Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FANTASY SPORTS SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to fantasy sports leagues, and the software used
in
a preferred embodiment, having a play feature that allows a user (e.g., a
fantasy team owner)
to select one or more real-life games of each player occurring during a
particular time period
that makes up only a portion of the season, and in particular to a fantasy
game or fantasy
series that spans a particular time period, and for which real-life statistics
generated by each
player during the selected real-life games are used to determine which fantasy
team wins the
particular fantasy game or fantasy series.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fantasy sports leagues are generally of two different types (referred to
interchangeably herein as the league "format"). The first type (referred to
interchangeably
herein as "rotisserie" or "stat-to-stat" style) is premised on each player's
cumulative statistics
(interchangeably referred to herein as "scores"). The real-life (also
interchangeably referred to
herein as "actual") statistics of each player on each fantasy team are
compiled over an entire
real-life sporting season or a portion thereof. At the end of the cumulative
fantasy period,
typically an entire season of the actual sport, the statistics for the entire
fantasy team are
totaled and compared to the cumulative statistics of all of the other fantasy
teams in a
particular fantasy league.
Typically, multiple statistics are used in this comparison. For example, in
baseball a 5x5 rotisserie league may use batting average, steals, home runs,
runs, runs batted
in, earned run average, saves, walks plus hits per innings pitched,
strikeouts, and wins/losses.
The fantasy team with the best cumulative statistics typically wins the
fantasy season. For
example, in a ten-team league, each team is given a point value 1 through 10
for the ranking
among other teams in each statistical category, and the total point value
among the statistical
categories is cumulated and calculated to produce a cumulative score.
One problem with this system is that it is possible for the cumulative
statistics
of one fantasy team to become so large during the fantasy season that, no
matter how well the
players on the other fantasy teams perform throughout the remainder of the
fantasy season, no
other fantasy teams can win. In other words, typically teams that fall behind
in the rankings
early in a season are unable to make up the lost ground and there is wide
variation between the
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leading fantasy team and the other fantasy team(s). As a result, player
interest often falls, and
in turn, fantasy leagues witness a drop-off in participation, such as
participation in waiver wire
or free agent activity, trades, and league chats and postings.
A second type of format is generally referred to herein as "head-to-head"
style.
In head-to-head style, the fantasy season is brokeii up into discrete fantasy
games (e.g.,
weekly totals). In other words, the fantasy games are generally scheduled over
regular
intervals, such as a week of an actual season of the particular sport, for the
duration of the
season. For example, in professional American football (also referred to
herein as "football"),
e.g., National Football League (NFL) football, the regular interval typically
consists of a 1
week interval, wherein one real game is played per week. In professional
baseball, such as
Major League Baseball (MLB), the regular interval may consist of a one week
period
including all gaines between Monday and the following Sunday, for example.
In head-to-head style, typically a first fantasy team plays, i.e., competes
directly with, a second fantasy team (as opposed to the entire league in the
rotisserie style).
The scores from the first and second fantasy teams are compared, and a winner
is determined
from the highest statistics of those two teams, regardless of the scores of
other teams in the
league. In a typical head-to-head format, the head-to-head match ups change in
each interval.
For example, in a six team league, team 1 plays team 2, team 3 plays team 4,
and team 5 plays
team 6. The scores of the teams playing one another (i.e., 1 and 2) are
compared to determine
a winner for the interval, such as a week. The following week team 1 may play
team 3 head-
to-head.
The statistics of each player on each fantasy team for that interval, e.g., a
particular week, are totaled, The cumulated statistics for each player on each
fantasy team are
then totaled to produce a fantasy team score, and the team's scores are
compared to the team
scores of the competing fantasy team. The fantasy team with the best team
scores is declared
the winner of that particular fantasy head-to-head game of that interval. Over
the course of a
multi-interval season, such as sixteen weeks of the entire NFL season for
fantasy football, the
best performing fantasy team, i.e., the fantasy team that wins the most
fantasy games, is
declared the winner of the fantasy league at the end of the fantasy season, or
the teams enter a
playoff based on regular season records, for example, if there is a tie.
However, one problem with the head-to-head style is that the statistics of
some
or all of the players on the first fantasy team might be low compared to the
statistics of the
players on a second competing fantasy team in a particular discrete period,
for example,
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because the players on the first fantasy team may not play as many real-life
games during that
time interval as the second team. Therefore, the first fantasy team may lose a
particular
fantasy game even though the players thereon are otherwise better performing
players over the
course of a season than those on the opposing fantasy team, simply because the
competing
team's players had a more intensive real-life schedule, e.g., a larger number
of real-life games
over that particular time interval. The head-to-head format creates artificial
and arbitrary
delineations in scheduling, and therefore it is often not an accurate measure
of a fantasy team's
overall value.
Although the head-to-head format provides fantasy players with relatively
quick results, as well as frequent results for each defined time interval, the
head-to-head
format has a tendency to dissipate interest of a fantasy team owner because of
the inherent
inequalities that tend to exist using artificial fantasy schedules and match
ups, which may
result in a fantasy team rapidly falling out of contention while still needed
to slog through the
entire season of the fantasy sport.
Thus, both the head-to-head and rotisserie fonnats suffer from an inability to
keep certain fantasy players' attention. Waning attention in the rotisserie
format is largely
attributable to the large number of games that the fantasy team owner must
monitor over the
course of a sport season and throughout the discrete period (i.e., interval)
over which the
players' statistics are accumulated, while in the head-to-head forinat, lost
interest is typically
attributable to the artificial boundaries of the schedule, which can cause
unrealistic variations
in fantasy performance despite solid performance on the real athletic field.
In view of the above weaknesses inherent in the existing head-to-head and
rotisserie fonnats, there is a need for a fantasy sports system and method of
playing thereof to
allow for discrete fantasy games or fantasy series that are more
representative of the actual
players' performance while engaging and retaining the interest of fantasy team
owners to
utilize inanaging skills during fantasy play. In addition, there is an unmet
need in the art to
provide a fantasy sports system that involves a greater amount of knowledge of
the real-life
sport.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention advantageously provides a system and method to
maintain the interest of fantasy participants (also referred to herein as
"fantasy owners,"
"owners," or "managers") in their fantasy teams and to provide discrete
intervals
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(interchangeably referred to herein as "series" or "fantasy period") of
scoring and results. The
present invention also preferably provides a manual and automated system of
scoring and
generally evaluating the performance of each fantasy team in real-time or near
real-time.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method of
providing head-to-
head style fantasy competition between teams over a plurality of discrete head
to head series,
which are cumulatively shorter than the regular season of the actual sport.
Moreover, the
present invention allows the owner of the each owner in a fantasy league to
select one or more
actual games for each player on a fantasy team in a discrete period (i.e.,
series) as the
accumulated scoring for that player. For each player on the fantasy team, the
accumulated
total is aggregated and a total team score is generated and compared to the
total team score for
each other fantasy team directly competing that period. The team with the
bigger score is
deemed the winner of that period.
The present invention is related to a metllod of playing a fantasy sport that
includes: 1) forming at least two fantasy teams, each team associated with at
least one actual
player from an actual sport that is played over a multiple-game schedule; 2)
selecting a
plurality of scoring statistics based on actual scoring statistics associated
with the actual sport
to measure the performance of the fantasy team; 3) selecting a series
corresponding to a
portion of an actual schedule of the sport; and 4) determining and evaluating
the scoring
statistics accrued by the fantasy team during the course of the selected
series, wherein series
comprises a number of games and the portion in all the selected series is less
than the total
games in the schedule of the sport over a season.
The present invention is also directed to a system for playing a fantasy
sport.
A processing system is configured and adapted to communicate with a plurality
of computers,
wherein the processing system is arranged to accept input of: a real-life
sport selection having
a multiple game schedule, a plurality of players each of wliich forms a
fantasy team each
including at least one actual player from the actual sport selected, a
selection of a plurality of
scoring statistic categories based on actual types of scoring statistic
categories associated with
the actual sport to measure the performance of the fantasy team, a selection
of a number of
series corresponding to an actual yearly schedule of the sport, and optionally
a selection of a
number of games in each series, wherein the processing system calculates
fantasy scoring
statistics based on the actual scoring statistic categories accrued by the
fantasy team over the
at least one series.
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Moreover, the present invention is direct to a system for playing a fantasy
sport including a processing system configured and adapted to communicate with
a plurality
of computers. The processing system is arranged to accept input of: a real-
life sport selection
having a multiple game schedule; a plurality of players each of which forms a
fantasy team
each including at least one actual player from the actual sport selected; a
selection of a
plurality of scoring statistic categories based on actual types of scoring
statistic categories
associated with the actual sport to measure the performance of the fantasy
team; a selection of
a number of series corresponding to an actual yearly schedule of the sport;
and optionally a
selection of a number of games in each series, wherein the processing system
calculates
fantasy scoring statistics based on the actual scoring statistic categories
accrued by the fantasy
team over the at least one series.
The present invention is further directed to an article of manufacture
including:
a computer readable medium and a data structure stored thereon adapted and
configured to
route signals. The data structure includes a computer readable systein for
playing a fantasy
sport including a processing system configured and adapted to communicate with
a plurality
of computers. The processing system is arranged to accept input of: a real-
life sport selection
having a multiple gam.e schedule; a plurality of players each of which forms a
fantasy team
each including at least one actual player from the actual sport selected; a
selection of a
plurality of scoring statistic categories based on actual types of scoring
statistic categories
associated with the actual sport to measure the performance of the fantasy
team; a selection of
a number of series corresponding to an actual yearly schedule of the sport;
and optionally a
selection of a number of games in each series, wherein the processing system
calculates
fantasy scoring statistics based on the actual scoring statistic categories
accrued by the fantasy
team over the at least one series.
The present invention is additionally directed to a system for playing fantasy
sports including a means for selecting a real-life sport, the sport having a
multiple game
schedule; a means for forming at least two fantasy teams, each team having at
least one real-
life player from the real-life sport; a means for selecting a plurality of
scoring statistics based
on real-life scoring statistics associated with the real-life sport to measure
the performance of
the fantasy team; a means for selecting a number of series corresponding to a
real-life
schedule of the sport; a means for selecting a number of games in each series;
and a means for
evaluating the fantasy scoring statistics accrued by the fantasy team over at
least one series.
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Furthermore, the present invention encompasses a method of playing fantasy
sports that includes providing a fantasy sports league and receiving league
formation
registration from at least two fantasy teams, each team being associated with
at least one
actual player from an actual sport that is played over a multiple-game
schedule. In a preferred
embodiment, the method further includes receiving selection of a plurality of
scoring statistics
based on actual scoring statistics associated with the actual sport to measure
the performance
of the fantasy team, receiving selection of a series corresponding to a
portion of an actual
schedule of the sport, and receiving the scoring statistics accrued by the
fantasy team during
the course of the selected series, wherein the selected series comprises a
number of games and
the portion in all the selected series is less than the total games in the
schedule of the actual
sport over a season, processing the scoring statistics accrued, and
transmitting results based on
the statistics accrued. In some embodiments, the method of the present
invention includes
receiving a selection one or more games from the series in which a player will
be activated
and processing the selection of one or more games.
In one embodiment, the scoring statistics are received from a statistic
provider.
In a preferred embodiment, the scoring statistics are real-time, while in
another embodiment
they are delayed.
Any of the embodiments illustrated above and below stand independently or
features may be combined to achieve preferred embodiments. Additional
advantages and
embodiments of the invention will also become more apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the
art upon review of the teachings of the present application.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Further advantageous features of the present invention will become more
apparent with the following detailed description when taken with reference to
the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram with various computer system components
for use with an exemplary implementation of a fantasy sports league system, in
accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows a communication system 30 of the present invention for use with
the computer system of FIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates the method and steps of one embodiment of the present
invention, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and
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FIG. 4 illustrates multiple series of the system and methods of the present
invention over portions of an 81 game season for the actual sport, in
accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention is directed to a fantasy sports system and method of
playing that allows the owner to participate directly against fellow fantasy
owners while
advantageously focusing the owner's attention to discrete time periods that
are shorter than the
regular season, thereby minimizing or avoiding the loss of interest typically
associated with
rotisserie format fantasy sports. In particular, one or more of the fantasy
sports team owners
preferably select a number of gaines for a fantasy series that is less than
the total number of
real games being played during a particular time frame, and preferably also
select a number of
series that includes less than the total number of real games played during
the entire season of
that sport. It should be understood that terms used herein, including "games"
and "played"
relates to all different types of sports, including, e.g., racing events, golf
matches, etc.
Further, some embodiments of the present invention reduce or avoid the
tedious hassle of watching or tracking a large number of games during the
discrete time
period, for example, because the fantasy team owners select only a limited
nuinber of games
from the total number of games occurring during the discrete period during
which their teams
compete. The fewer the number of games used for fantasy play, for example, a
series of only
one or two games over the discrete period, creates a more focused experience
for the fantasy
team owners and, therefore, helps retain the fantasy team owners' interest
overall excitement
in these games and the fantasy play. Moreover, by using only a select number
of games
occurring in the discrete period, the fantasy team owners' game selections
have heightened
importance in the overall fantasy season. As a result, the fantasy team owners
potentially
become even more interested in the fantasy play, learning the specifics of a
particular sport,
and enjoy a better overall fantasy play experience.
The present invention includes a method and system for scheduling a fantasy
sport season using a plurality of series, i.e., discrete head-to-head
competitions between
fantasy teams in a particular fantasy league, wherein the total number of real-
life games
among the series is fewer than the number of ganies in the season of the real-
life sport. In
some embodiments, the total number of real-life games among all of the series
is less than the
regular season of the real-life sport and the period of the real-life season
which is required for
the playoffs of the fantasy sport. The selection of series according to the
present invention
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inherently increases the accuracy and realism of the head-to-head competitions
based on the
actual performance of players selected for each fantasy team.
Preferably, the present invention includes a computer or other suitable
processing system with application software and a communication network, such
as the
Internet. The present invention, in one embodiment, provides a graphical user
interface (GUI)
for the entry of data, such as the players selected for each fantasy team, as
well as the real-life
games of each player corresponding to particular fantasy games. The GUI also
presents
information, such as in a graphical manner, to show the statistics of fantasy
teams, the players
on those teams, the statistics of the individual players on each fantasy team,
and the standing
of those fantasy teams relative to one another. The invention can also display
the fantasy
owners of each fantasy team in a particular fantasy league, the total number
of fantasy teams
per fantasy league, a competition schedule, and other information related to
planning,
organizing, running, managing, or participating in the fantasy sports league
or fantasy sports
team within the league.
For the purposes of this invention, a real-life sport may include any sport,
professional or amateur, having multiple games or matches over a an annual or
regular
schedule. Typical sports include, for example, basketball, baseball, auto-
racing, soccer,
football, hockey, golf, racing, tennis, rugby, cricket, or bowling. In some
embodiments, sports
from the following professional associations may be applicable: the National
Basketball
Association (NBA); Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League
(NHL); the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), North American Stock Car Auto
Racing
(NASCAR); Professional Bowling Association (PBA); Professional Golf
Association (PGA);
International Tennis Federation (ITF), and their international and national
sister organizations,
for example. International sports leagues, such as nationally-based soccer
leagues, e.g., the
English Premier League, and auto-racing, such as Formula 1 and Grand Prix, are
also
applicable.
The formation of suitable fantasy leagues and teams is generally known in the
art, and any available methods or systems available to those of ordinary skill
in the art are
contemplated for such purpose according to the invention. Typically, at least
two fantasy
teams are formed and fantasy players are selected or drafted to compromise a
"fantasy roster."
As used herein, a fantasy league may include 2 or more teams competing against
one another.
The operation and function of the fantasy draft would generally be known to
one of ordinary-skill in the art, and basically encompasses a method to select
players on each
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fantasy team. In some embodiments, a commissioner is selected to govern the
league and to
select the series, i.e., interval, and the limited number and/or specific
games of the series
based on the schedule of the actual sport.
A fantasy season may be broken up into a plurality of series for head-to-head
games or matches over the course of a fantasy season, which will last until
the final selected
game in the final selected series. Thus, the series is defined to encompass a
discrete time
period of the real-life season of the sport in interest. Each fantasy series
includes one or more
real-life games up to a number of games that is less than the total number of
games in the
selected series. The number of series in a fantasy season may be variable, and
is typically
more than two, preferably more than three, more preferably more than four, and
even more
preferably more than four series of head-to-head match ups. For example, in
some variations
the number of series is more than 1, more than 10, or inore than 50. The
number of series that
may be played corresponds to the length of the season of the actual sport.
Accordingly, it is
within the scope of the present invention that from about 2 to about 80,
preferably from about
20 to about 70, more preferably from about 30 to about 60, series may be
played for a sport
with a 162 game schedule. Moreover, for a sport with 81 games, for example,
from about 2 to
about 40, preferably from about 10 to about 35, and more preferably from about
20 to about
30, series are conceivable. In other embodiments of the present invention the
number of series
per season is less than or equal to 99%. In some variations, the number of
series is less than
or equal to 98%, less than or equal to 95%, less than or equal to 90%, or less
than or equal to
80%. This percentage may be as low as 1 lo as long as the number of games in
the series is no
less than two.
In additional embodiments, the number of series per fantasy season is subject
to the following: the number of real-life games covered by the total number of
series selected
for the fantasy season, provided that, a series always includes fewer than the
total number of
real-life games in the annual schedule of that fantasy sport. A head-to-head
match between a
first fantasy team and a second fantasy team preferably lasts one series, but
may last over any
number of series in the annual schedule.
In certain einbodiments of the present invention, a plurality of series are
selected. For example, in a 162-game schedule in MLB, 25 series consisting of
5 games may
be played. The games of a series are preferably in consecutive order according
to the real-life
schedule, but may be any games on the real-life schedule.
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A series includes one or more, preferably two or more, real-life games. In
some variations, the number of games within a period varies from 1 to 14,
preferably 3 to 12,
more preferably from 4 to 10, and even more preferably from 5 to 8 games. The
owner assigns
each of the "starting" or selected players (players selected to accrue points
in the series) to at
least one game within the fantasy period. Generally, the rules of each fantasy
league dictate
the number of starting versus reserved players.
Preferably, fewer than all games in a series are included in play. Therefore,
the
league may prescribe the number of games each fantasy player must play in a
given series that
is less than the total number of games, e.g., two selected games out of a
total number of three
or more played over the timer period, e.g., a week or a biweekly. For example,
if there are 5
games in the series, the league rules may say each fantasy player shall play
in at least two real-
life games. The number of games selected in a series can also be determined on
a percentage
basis, as a percentage of the total number of games. For example, play must
include at least
40 percent, or at least 60 percent, of the games in a series but no more than
a specified
maximum that is less than the total number of games in the series.
Alternatively, a specific
percentage may be selected, i.e., exactly 50 percent, or 25 percent or 75
percent, of the games
As used herein, the term "play in" implies that the fantasy player is a
"starter" and can accrue
points used towards the fantasy team's total score for the series. Each
starting player's
statistics from those games are combined to form the series information.
At the end of each fantasy series, the players' statistics for the starting
roster, in
some variations the whole roster, are totaled. Each fantasy team's statistics
are determined by
combining the previously totaled statistics of each player and comparing that
fantasy team's
total statistics against a challenging fantasy team's statistics (in head-to-
head play). That is to
say that the invention can be used in accordance with head-to-head format
fantasy play. The
fantasy team with the best statistics is declared the winner of that fantasy
series. In some
embodiments, the fantasy team that wins the most fantasy series wins the
fantasy regular
season. Alternatively, particular statistics are accorded a corresponding
point value or ranking
based on an otherwise normalized comparison, and the fantasy team with the
highest or lowest
number of points or rankings wins the fantasy series or game. Accordingly,
rotisserie style
play is also conceivable using the present invention. In variations of
rotisserie play, the
statistics for each series are cumulated at the end of the season (or some
predefined period)
and each team's statistics, i. e., every team in the league, is compared
against one another.
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Generally, the actual statistics from the real games participated in by each
mtasy player are used in a play of the fantasy sport. As used herein,
"statistics"
ncompasses any identifiable, measurable, monitored and/or recorded value
accrued by a
rlayer in the player's actual sport. For example, Michael Jordan's statistics
in basketball may
nclude (but are not limited to) one or more of the number of shots taken,
number of minutes
)layed, and defensive rushes (if this statistic is kept and recorded). It
would be understood to
)ne of ordinary skill in the art that each sport includes preferred or
commonly used statistics
in that sport, which are the preferred statistics selected in the scoring
systems used for that
sport in the present invention. For example, for baseball, common statistics
may include
batting average, home runs, runs batter in (RBI), runs, hits, earned run
average (ERA), walks
plus hits per innings pitched (WHIP), strikeouts, wins, and saves.
Statistics are calculated, input, or provided by a database either manually or
preferably automatically and/or electronically, i.e., by computer or similar
processing device.
Electronically includes, but is not limited to computer, Internet, or other
suitable electronic
processing. Automatic updating can occur at set time intervals, upon request
by the fantasy
league "commissioner" (the player or non-playing third party organizing the
fantasy league),
or upon request by the manager of a particular fantasy team. For example, if
league rules
allow 6 points for each touchdown and 1 point for each yard rushing, a fantasy
player would
accrue 8 points for having I touchdown and 50 yards rushing in a corresponding
real-life
game. In some variations of the present invention, statistics are received
electronically via a
statistics provider. The statistic provider may be independent or integrated
with the system
and methods of the present invention. In further variations, the statistics
are received in real-
time and/or the player updates are generated automatically or upon request.
In conventional head-to-head matches, teams compete over a regular interval of
games, containing a week's worth of games, for example, and (starting)
players' statistics are
accrued from each and every game in the period. However, in many instances,
some real-life
players will play 7 games in the interval while others may play 5 or 6, for
example. The
preseiit invention allows owners to avoid gaps in a real-life player's
schedule by allowing
owners to chose the games in which the players fantasy points will accrue
towards the total
fantasy teain score, and the number of actual gaines wliere the player is
active will match up
with the number of actual games of every other player in that fantasy league
participating in
that series.
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Changes in roster players for each fantasy team may also occur during a
fantasy season, such as by replacement of players for non-performance, injury,
or other
reasons, including trade of roster players between fantasy team owners.
Additionally, players
may be reserved or "benched, or activated or "started," as specific league
rules permit.
Preferably, the performance statistics of each activated player on the fantasy
roster are only calculated for the gaine or games designated by the owner. For
example, in
one variation, in a 5 game series, the fantasy owner may designate the
statistics of game 3 to
represent player A's performance, while the owner may designate the statistics
of game 1 to
represent player B's performance. Multiple games may be designated in some
variations. In
other variations, the number of designated games in each series over the
course of a fantasy
season may be variable, e.g., one designated game per player in the first
series and two
designated games per player in the second series, and so on.
Each fantasy team owner can, in one embodiment, select only a single gaine for
each player occurring during the discrete period. As a result, if a player on
the fantasy team
owner's fantasy team is injured early in the selected game, the only
statistics the fantasy team
owner gets for the player are the statistics that player has managed to amass
prior to the time
of injury. The fantasy team owner cannot rely on other games played by the
player during
that discrete period to make up for the low or non-existent statistics of the
selected game.
Therefore, selection of the games becomes much more important and potentially
creates more
intrigue, tends to foster more analysis by fantasy team owners, and can result
in a better
overall fantasy game experience. Moreover, the present invention allows owners
to apply a
greater breadth of knowledge of actual sports than conventional formats. In
conventional
head-to-head formats, owners decide whether to "activate" or "play" a
particular player based
on expected performance for the head-to-head period, which typically lasts
over many games.
Thus, a selected player would be activated for six to seven games in a weekly
head-to-head
professional baseball, e.g., MLB, fantasy sports league. Over the course of
that period, i.e.,
six to seven, games, the player will typically perform to the level expected
based the players
past performances. Over the course of multiple periods, the player the players
performance
will likely converge towards his expected performance. Thus, in these
conventional leagues,
it would be rudimentary to select fantasy players whose performance is
expected to be high
over the course of season. Numerous publications rank and predict players'
overall
performance of a season. Because these statistics are so readily available,
owners with access
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to the publications can make quick and simple decisions, without even having
any further
knowledge of the game.
In one embodiment of the present invention, owners pick not only the player,
but also specific games in which the player will be designated as "active" or
"activated." As
used herein, "active" generally means that the active player's accrued points
in those games
will be considered and tabulated towards the total fantasy team points,
wherein a "bench" or
"reserve" player's points are not totaled. For example, the owner can select
the specific game
or match up which would be expected to produce the best statistics for a given
player. This
selection process typically involves assessing numerous factors related to the
real-life sport,
and involves significantly more analysis than simply selecting the best player
on the team.
As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention may be implemented using
hardware, software, or a combination thereof, and may be implemented in one or
more
coinputer systems or other processing systems. In one embodiment, the
invention is directed
toward one or more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionality
described
herein.
FIG. 1 shows a computer system 1 that includes one or more processors, such
as processor 4. The processor 4 is connected to a communication infrastructure
6 (e.g., a
communications bus, cross-over bar, or network). Various software embodiments
are
described in terms of this exemplary computer system. After reading this
description, it will
become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement
the invention
using other computer systems and/or architectures.
Computer system 1 can include a display interface 2 that forwards graphics,
text, and other data from the communication infrastructure 6 (or from a frame
buffer not
shown) for display on the display unit 30. Computer system 1 also includes a
main memory 8,
preferably random access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory
10.
The secondary memory 10 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 12 and/or
a removable
storage drive 14, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an
optical disk drive,
etc. The removable storage drive 14 reads from and/or writes to a removable
storage unit 18
in a well known manner. Removable storage unit 18, represents a floppy disk,
magnetic tape,
optical disk, etc., which is read by and written to removable storage drive
14. As will be
appreciated, the removable storage unit 18 includes a computer usable storage
mediuin having
stored therein computer software and/or data.
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In alternative embodiments, secondary memory 10 may include other similar
devices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into
computer
system 1. Such devices may include, for example, a removable storage unit 22
and an
interface 20. Examples of such may include a program cartridge and cartridge
interface (such
as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an
erasable
programmable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory
(PROM))
and associated socket, and other removable storage units 22 and interfaces 20,
which allow
software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit 22 to
computer system 1.
Computer system 1 may also include a communications interface 24.
Communications interface 24 allows software and data to be transferred between
computer
system 1 and external devices. Examples of communications interface 24 may
include a
modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port,
a Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc.
Software
and data transferred via communications interface 24 are in the fomi of
signals 28, which may
be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being
received by
communications interface 24. These signals 28 are provided to communications
interface 24
via a communications path (e.g., channel) 26. This path 26 carries signals 28
and may be
implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular
link, a radio
frequency (RF) link and/or other communications channels. In this document,
the terms
"computer progranl medium" and "computer usable medium" are used to refer
generally to
media such as a removable storage drive 14, a hard disk installed in hard disk
drive 12, and
signals 28. These computer program products provide software to the computer
system 1.
The invention is directed to such computer program products.
Computer programs (also referred to as coinputer control logic) are stored in
main memory 8 and/or secondary memory 10. Computer prograins may also be
received via
communications interface 24. Such computer programs, when executed, enable the
computer
system 1 to perform the features of the present invention, as discussed
herein. In particular,
the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor 4 to perform the
features of the
present invention. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers
of the
computer system 1.
In an embodiment where the invention is implemented using software, the
software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer
system 1
using removable storage drive 14, hard drive 12, or communications interface
24. The control
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logic (software), when executed by the processor 4, causes the processor 4 to
perform the
functions of the invention as described herein. In another embodiment, the
invention is
implemented primarily in hardware using, for example, hardware components,
such as
application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of the
hardware state
machine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparent to
persons skilled in
the relevant art(s).
In yet another embodiment, the invention is implemented using a combination
of both hardware and software.
As shown in FIG 2, The communication system 30 includes an accessor 31
(also referred to interchangeably herein as a "user") and a ternn.ina132. In
one embodiment,
data for use in the coinputer system 1 is, for example, input and/or accessed
by the accessor 31
via the terminal 32, such as a personal computer (PC), minicomputer, mainframe
computer,
microcomputer, telephonic device, or wireless device, such as a hand-held
wireless device
coupled to a server 33, such as a PC, minicomputer, mainframe computer,
microcomputer, or
other device having a processor and a repository for data and/or connection to
a processor
and/or repository for data, via, for example, a network 34, such as the
Internet or an intranet,
and couplings 35, 36. The couplings 35, 36 include, for example, wired,
wireless, or
fiberoptic links. In another embodiment, the method and system of the present
invention
operate in a stand-alone environment, such as on a single terminal. For all
data received or
transmitted under the present invention, such as player statistics and team
scores, may be
calculated based on values input, which may be manually input or downloaded
from a
database at any location, preferably remote. The database itself can be
online, stored in fixed
memory, or disk-based.
For a particular sport, such as baseball or basketball, any number of fantasy
leagues can be created. Each fantasy league includes one or more fantasy
teams. Each team
includes at least one player. As shown in FIG. 3, at step 300, a first set of
input data is
received. For example, the first set of data inputted can include the size of
each fantasy
league, i.e., how many fantasy teams include the fantasy league and the
duration of a fantasy
sport season. At step 310, a second set of input data is received. The second
set of input data
includes the number of fantasy games or fantasy series in the fantasy sport
season. A fantasy
series includes at least one fantasy game. In varying embodiments, the number
of games
selected in each fantasy series may be variable from series to series, e.g., 5
games of the actual
sport in series 1, 6 games of the actual sport in series 3, and 4 games of the
actual sport in
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series 5. See FIG. 4. The fantasy team that wins the most fantasy games in a
fantasy series
wins the fantasy series, for example. Additionally, each fantasy game or
fantasy series spans
a particular portion of the real-life season of the sport at issue. The
commissioner of each
fantasy league can define the scope of the first and second set of data
inputted at Steps 300
and 310.
At step 320 a third set of data is received. The third set of data is inputted
by
each user, i. e., fantasy team owner, and includes the players for each
fantasy tealn owner's
fantasy team. The players can be selected, for example, using a draft system,
a lottery system,
or an auto draft system. In the draft system, the fantasy team owners are
placed in a numerical
order. The fantasy team owners select players in that numerical order. For
example, the
fantasy team owner first in the order selects the first player, the fantasy
team owner second in
the order selects the second player and so on. In the lottery system, each
fantasy team owner
is allotted a particular amount of credits, and eacli player is given a
particular value in credits.
The fantasy team owners fill their teams by exchanging credits for the
players. It is also
within the scope of the invention to select players by other methods, such as
randomly, and
optionally to include additional players on each fantasy team beyond a minimum
number
required to play the sport in interest to allow the fantasy team owner to
substitute players into
and out of the various positions of the sport. In the auto draft system,
players are assigned to
each fantasy team based on a predetermined value.
In some sports, such as professional soccer, there may be an insufficient
number of players in a single real-life league to form a fantasy league having
a sufficient
number of fantasy teams and/or players scoring sufficiently to make the
fantasy play
interesting. Accordingly, it is within the scope of the invention to combine
several
professional sports leagues of a particular sport to create a sufficiently
large pool of players.
The soccer league soccer league include one or more of the English Premier
League, German
Premier League, Spanish Premier League, Portuguese Premier League, French
Premier
League, Italian Premier League, Dutch Premier League, Scottish Premier League,
Turkish
Premier League, Austrian Premier League, Swedish Premier League, Finish
Premier League,
Russian Premier League, Polish Premier League, Greek Premier League, Irish
Premier
League, Brazilian Premier League, Argentinean Premier League, Mexican Premier
League,
Chinese Premier League, Japanese Premier League, Indian Premier League,
Australian
Premier League, MLS, or any combination thereof: For example, in professional
soccer, the
players of the English Premier League, the German Premier League, and the
French Premier
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League may be combined to form a sufficiently large pool from which the
fantasy team
owners select scoring players.
Once the first, second, and third sets of data are entered and received into
the
system, at Step 330 a fantasy season play schedule is created, wherein
competing fantasy
teams are matched up for each fantasy game or fantasy series of the entire
fantasy season. For
example, twenty series consisting of five games each may be selected over the
course of a
MLB schedule. The start and end dates of each series are noted. This
information is stored in
a storage medium and can be recalled at will by the commissioner or any of the
fantasy team
owners.
At Step 340 a fourth set of data is received. 1'rior to each fantasy head-to-
head
game or fantasy series, fantasy team owners select, from among their
respective players, who
will compete in each fantasy game or fantasy series. This selection process of
"starters" and
"reserves" is generally known in the art. Additionally, each fantasy team
owner selects one or
more real-life games for each player, preferably each starting player,
occurring within a time
interval over which the fantasy game or fantasy series spans (eg., during the
series lasting 7
days, the fantasy team owner selects two games for each player for which
statistics will be
used - the starters - in the fantasy play). The statistics from the selected
real-life game or
games are used to determine which fantasy team wins each fantasy game or
fantasy series.
At Step 350 a fifth set of data is received. The fifth set of data includes
the
performance statistics for each player generated during the real-life game or
games.
Optionally, at Step 360 the individual player's statistics are converted into
a point value. At
Step 370 the total point value of each fantasy team is computed manually or
automatically by
adding the total points of the individual players on each fantasy team.
At Step 380 the total points or totaled statistics of the fantasy teams of a
fantasy
league are compared to determine winning and losing fantasy teams. For eac11
coinparison,
the fantasy team with the best statistics or the most points wins.
Alternately, the team having
the fewest number of points wins, where, for example, the fewest points
corresponds to a
better performing team, such as in the sport of golf: Once the winning and
losing teams for
each fantasy game or fantasy series are determined, at Step 390 the results
for each team are
displayed and stored. Steps 340 through 390 are then repeated for each fantasy
game or
fantasy series occurring during the fantasy season. When the fantasy season
concludes, in
Step 400 the total statistics or the total points of each fantasy team for the
fantasy season are
tallied or determined. At Step 410, the combined statistics or the total
points of each team are
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compared to the combined statistics or the total points of each of the other
fantasy teams to
determine an overall fantasy season winner or regular season winner, for
example. At Step
420, the results of Step 410 are output and the results stored to a storage
medium.
As shown in FIG. 4, an exemplary 81 game season of an actual sport may be
adapted to 10 fantasy series, in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention. In
this example, the series are of variable length, ranging from 4 to 6 games of
the actual sport.
Six players, included of two guard positions, one center position, two forward
positions, and 1
utility position (any player of the previously listed positions), may be
designated as starters
per series. Players may be designated as "starters" for only one game per
series in this
example. Series 1 illustrates at least one player designated as starting for
each game in the
series, while series two indicates that only 3 games of the series include
starters for Fantasy
Team I. Thus, in series two, the players performance in games 14 and 17 will
not be
considered in the total score of the Fantasy Team I series 2. More
specifically, as an example,
on the statistics accrued by Shaquille O'Neal in game 15 will be totaled in
the fantasy score for
Fantasy team I in series 2.
EXAMPLES
The invention is further defined by reference to the following illustrative
examples that may be used to prepare or administer the compositions of the
present invention.
These examples are for illustrative purposes only, and are not to be construed
as limiting the
appended claims.
Example 1. An exemplary system for fantasy sport play
Fantasy Team Owners select Fantasy Players, which are actual professional
and/or amateur athletes to constitute their Fantasy Team. To play the game,
"Fantasy Team
Owners" face off against one another in scheduled contests in which "Fantasy
Teams"
compete one against another; just as in professional and/or amateur sports
leagues. The
outcome of these scheduled "Fantasy Games" rely on the statistics of "Fantasy
Players" in real
professional and/or amateur sports games.
The Commissioner/Provider (i.e., the host providing the fantasy games or the
team owner(s) designated as administrator(s) of the league) defines the time-
period and
frequency for "Fantasy Games" in a given Fantasy Season." During that time-
period, a
professional and/or amateur player's statistical data represents one "Fantasy
Players" score. If
more than one professional and/or aniateur game occurs during a given "Fantasy
Game Night"
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for a given Fantasy Player, the Fantasy Team Owner determines which game his
player's
statistics will count toward his "Fantasy Teams" overall score. Thus, the
Owner has the
ability to choose the night the Owner's "Fantasy Player" plays during a
fantasy game period.
During the time-period defined for one given Fantasy Game, a "Fantasy
Player" may compete in 0, 1 or more than one professional and/or amateur
games. The
Fantasy Team Owner determines which of these professional and/or amateur
games, and
respective "Fantasy Player's" statistics generated, that will count toward
their respective
"Fantasy Team's" overall score.
The Provider/Cominissioner predetermines how many professional and/or
ainateur game's results constitute a Fantasy Player's score. The
Provider/Commissioner
configures the "Fantasy League" to use one (and only one) game's results
during the course of
a "Fantasy Game-Night" as the basis for each "Fantasy Player's" score. Fantasy
Game #1 is
defined to be played during the week of January 1 St through January 7ffi. For
"Fantasy Game"
#1, Fantasy Team #1 will compete against Fantasy Team #2. The "Fantasy
Players" on either
team may compete in 0, 1 or many actual professional and/or amateur games
during the week
of January 1 st through January 7t1i. Prior to any of the professional and/or
amateur games
being played, the Fantasy Team Owners choose which professional and/or amateur
games
their respective players statistics will count toward the team's overall score
for "Fantasy
Gaine" #1.
By using this format, wherein the professional or amateur player must perform
on one particular night, a closer relationship is developed between the
"Fantasy Team Owner,"
and the owner's corresponding Fantasy Players, and the owner's Fantasy
Opponents' players.
Moreover, a greater emphasis is placed on the "Fantasy Team Owners" coaching
ability
because the owner must select the night that his "Fantasy Players" stats will
be used, against
his "Fantasy Opponent.
This "schedule based approach" encourages owners to know more about player
statistics, including how well players play against specific teams or other
players. For
example, the owner may choose to start Tim Duncan when he plays against a team
with a
weak center as opposed to starting him when he plays against Shaquille O'Neil,
widely
recognized as a more dominant center in the NBA.
The fantasy league is played through many different mediums, such as
television, the internet, wireless and/or any other technological and/or non-
technological
means to give the owners constant exposure.
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Example 2a. An exemplary embodiment for a fantasy baseball league,
such as one based on MLB
Baseball fantasy leagues are determined at the beginning of the season by the
commissioner of each respective league. The player pool is preferably selected
from Major
League Baseball for easy of obtaining statistical data and overall familiarity
with the player
personnel in the US at the professional level. However, the pool could also
conceivably
include players from other leagues, such as the minor leagues, the Japanese
League, other
foreign leagues, and any other leagues for which stats can be calculated. A
fantasy series can
be played over four to seven day span; or over three day span; or over a two
day span. This
allows you to schedule 2 fantasy series a weeks using the three day format; or
3 fantasy series
a week using the two day format or 1 fantasy series a week using the 4-7 day
format. The
commissioner of each respective league, preferably with input from other
fantasy owners in
the league, determines how many series are played during their fantasy season.
The fantasy
owner uses his players stats for one night in his daily head to head
competition with his
fantasy opponent over an extend fantasy series (2, 3, or 4-7).
Team # 1 - FRIDAY
Positions Players Stat Points
C V. Martinez 2-4, 2 singles, 1R, 1RBI, 1BB 5
1 Helton 4-4,2 singles, 2 doubles, 3 RBI 9
2 Boone 0-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB 3
SS Garciaparra 3-4, 3 single, 1 SB 4
3 Blalock 3-5, 2 doubles, 1HR, 2R, 3RBI 13
OF Alou 1-3, IHR, 1R, 1RBI 6
OF A. Jones 0-5 0
OF S. Stewart 2-4, 1 single, 1 double, 2R, 1 SB 6
DH Ramirez 3-5, 3 singles, 1R, 2RBI 6
SP Mulder 8 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, W 13.5
RP Rivera 1.0 INN, 1 S, 2K 3.5
TOTAL 69
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SATURDAY
Positions Players Stat Points
C V. Martinez 2-4, 2 singles, IR, 1RBI, 1BB 5
1 Helton 4-4,2 singles, 2 doubles, 3 RBI 9
2 Figgins 0-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB 3
SS Garciaparra 1-4, 1 single, I SB 2
3 Blalock 3-5, 2 doubles, 1HR, 2R, 3RBI 13
OF Alou 1-3, 1HR, IR, IRBI 6
OF A. Jones 1-5, 1HR, IRBI 5
OF S. Stewart 2-4, 1 single, 1 double, 2R, 1SB 6
DH Ramirez 3-5, 3 singles, 1R, 2RBI 6
SP Prior 8 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, W 13.5
RP Rivera 1.0 INN, 1 S, 2K 3.5
TOTAL 72
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SUNDAY
Positions Players Stat Points
C V. Martinez 2-4, 2 singles, 1R, 1RBI, 1BB 5
1 Helton 4-4,2 singles, 2 doubles, 3 RBI 9
2 Figgins 0-4, IR, 1 BB, 1SB 3
SS Garciaparra 1-4, 1 single, 1 SB 2
3 Wright 3-5, 2 doubles, 1HR, 2R, 3RBI 13
OF Alou 1-3, IHR, 1 R, 1 RBI 6
OF A. Jones 0-5 0
OF S. Stewart 2-4, 1 single, I double, 2R, 1SB 6
DH Ramirez 3-5, 3 singles, 1R, 2RBI 6
SP Wright 8 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, W 13.5
RP Mota 1.0 INN, 1 S, 2K 3.5
TOTAL 67
Team # 2 - FRIDAY
Positions Players Stat Points
C Posada 2-4, 2 singles, 3R, 1RBI, 1BB 7
1 Pujols 4-4,2 singles, 2 doubles, 3 RBI 9
2 Soriano 0-4, 1R, 1BB, ISB 3
SS Jeter 3-4, 1 single, 1 SB 4
3 Rodriguez 3-5,2 doubles, 1HR, 2R, 3RBI 13
OF Suzuki 1-3, IHR, 1R, 1RBI 6
OF Sosa 1-5, IR 1
OF Edmonds 3-4, 1 single, I double, 2R, 1 SB 6
DH Griffey 3-5, 3 singles, 1R, 2RBI 6
SP Johnson 8 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, W 13.5
RP Baez 1.0 INN, 1 S, 2K 3.5
TOTAL 72
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SATURDAY
Positions Players Stat Points
C Posada 0-5 0
1 Giambi 4-4,2 singles, 2 doubles, 3 RBI 9
2 Soriano 0-4, 1R, 1BB, I SB 3
SS Jeter 1-4, 1 single, 1 SB 2
3 Rodriguez 3-5, 2 doubles, 1HR, 2R, 3RBI 13
OF Suzuki 1-3, IHR, 1R, IRBI 6
OF Sosa 0-5 0
OF Edmonds 2-4, 1 single, 1 double, 2R, 1 SB 6
DH Griffey 3-5, 3 singles, 1R, 2RBI 6
SP Johnson 8 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, W 13.5
RP Baez 1.0 INN, 1 S, 2K 3.5
TOTAL 62
SUNDAY
Positions Players Stat Points
C Posada 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, I BB 12
1 Pujols 4-4,2 singles, 2 doubles, 3 RBI 9
2 Soriano 0-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1SB 3
SS Jeter 1-4, 1 single, 1 SB 2
3 Rodriguez 3-5, 2 doubles, 1HR, 2R, 3RBI 13
OF Suzuki 1-3, 1HR, 1 R, 1 RBI 6
OF Dunn 0-5 0
OF Edmonds 2-4, 1 single, 1 double, 2R, 1 SB 6
DH Sosa 3-5, 3 singles, 1R, 2RBI 6
SP Johnson 8 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, W 13.5
RP Baez 1.0 INN, 1 S, 2K 3.5
TOTAL 74
GAMES. FRI SAT SUN
TEAM #1 69 72 67
TEAM #2 72 67 74
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STANDINGS
RECORD TOTAL
(W-L) POINTS
TEAM #1 2-1 208
TEAM #2 1-2 213
Example 2b. Another exemplary embodiment for a fantasy baseball
league, such as one based on MLB
Baseball fantasy leagues are determined at the beginning of the season by the
commissioner of each respective league. A fantasy game can be played over four
to seven day
span or over three day span or over a two day span. This allows you to
schedule 2 fantasy
games a weeks using the tlu-ee day format or 3 fantasy games a week on the two
day format or
1 fantasy game a week using the 4-7 day format. The commissioner of each
respective league
determines how many games are played during their fantasy season. The fantasy
owner gets
to pick one night that his respective player stats will be used in his head to
head competition
with his fantasy opponent over an extended fantasy game night (2, 3, or 4-7).
Team #1
Positions Players Fri. Sat. Stat Points
C V. Martinez X 2-4, 2 singles,l R,1 RBI, 1 BB 5
1 Helton X 4-4, 2 singles, 2 doubles, 3RBI 9
2 Figgins X 0-4, 1R, 1 BB, 1 SB 3
SS Garciaparra X 1-4, 1 single, 1SB 2
3 Blalock X 3-5, 2 doubles, 1HR, 2R, 3RBI 13
OF Alou X 1-3, 1HR,1R, IRBI 6
OF A. Jones X 0-5 0
OF S. Stewart X 2-4, 1 single, 1 double, 2R, 1SB 6
DH Ramirez X 3-5, 3 singles,lR, 2RBI 6
SP Mulder X 8 IP, 2ER, 6K, W 13.5
RP Rivera X 1.0 INN, 1 S, 2K 3.5
TOTAL 67
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Team #2
Positions Players Fri. Sat. Stat Points
C Posada X 0-5 0
1 Pujols X 4-4, 2 singles, 2 doubles, 3RBI 9
2 Soriano X 0-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB 3
SS Jeter X 1-4, 1 single, 1 SB 2
3 Rodriguez X 3-5, 2 doubles, 1HR, 2R, 3RBI 13
OF Suzuki X 1-3, 1HR, 1R, 1RBI 6
OF Dunn X 0-5 0
OF Edmonds X 2-4, 1 single, 1 double, 2R, 1 SB 6
DH Sosa X 3-5, 3 singles, 1R, 2RBI 6
SP Johnson X 8 IP, 2ER, 6K, W 13.5
RP Baez X 1.0 INN, 1 S, 2K 3.5
TOTAL 62
SCOREBOARD
FINAL SCORE
TEAM #1 67
TEAM #2 62
STANDINGS
RECORD TOTAL
(W-L) POINTS
TEAM #1 1-0 67
TEAM #2 0-1 62
With respect to head to head competition, the 11 players who are started by
each Fantasy Owner for each game have their statistics added. The fantasy
owner with the
most points gets the victory. The record determines the seeding for each
Fantasy Owner for
the playoffs. Total Points are used as the first tie breaker in determining
fantasy teams
rankings within any given league. The head to head record is used as the last
tie breaker in
determining overall standings.
All these guidelines are established by each individual commissioner and/or
provider.
Among the values for which points may be determined are as follows:
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#PIPA Pitches seen per plate appearance
2B Doubles
3B Triples
AB At-bats
Avg Batting average (H divided by AB)
BB Bases on balls
BB/K Walks Per Strikeout
BB/PA Walks Per Plate Appearance
CS Caught stealing
FB Fly balls hit, excluding home runs
G Games played
G/F Ground ball/fly ball ratio (GB divided by FB)
GIDP Grounded into double play
H Hits
HBP Hit by pitch
HR Home runs
IBB Intentional bases on balls
IsoP Isolated Power (Slugging Percentage - Batting Average)
LOB Runners left on base
OBP On-base percentage (H + BB + HBP) divided by (AB + BB + HBP + SF)
OPS On-base percentage plus slugging percentage. See OBP, above, and Slg,
below, for definitions
OW% Offensive winning percentage. The theoretical winning percentage of a team
comprising nine of the same players (e.g., nine Ken Griffey Jr.).
1) Figure runs created per 27 outs [Note: Total outs =(AB - H + C + GIDP +
SH + SF)]. 2) Divide by league average runs per game. 3) Square the result.
4) Divide that figure by 1+ itself
Qualified year-to-date In order to qualify for batting titles in averaged
categories (Avg, Slg, OBP, OPS, RC, OW%, #P/P A, G/F), a player must
average at least 3.1 plate appearances for every game his teain has played.
Sorting by qualified year-to-date excludes all players not currently on pace
to
reach that minimum
R Runs
RBI Runs batted in
RC Runs created [(H + BB + HBP - CS - GIDP) times (Total bases +.26[BB -
IBB + HBP] +.52[SH + SF + SB])] divided by (AB + BB + HBP + SH+ SF)
RC27 Runs created per 27 outs (Estimates how many runs per gaine a team made
up
of nine of the same player would score)
SB Stolen bases
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SecA Secondary Average (A way to look at a player's extra bases gained,
independent of Batting Average) (TB - H + BB + SB - CS) / AB
SF Sacrifice flies
SH Sacrifice hits
Slg Slugging percentage TB divided by AB
SO Strikeouts
TB Total bases [Hits + (2B times 2) + (3B times 3) + (HR times 4)]
TPA Total plate appearances (AB + BB + HBP + SF + SH + times reached on
defensive interference)
XBH Extra Base Hits (2B + 3B + HR)
PITCHING STATISTICS:
#P/IP Pitches thrown per inning
#P/GS Pitches thrown per start
#Pit Pitches thrown
2B Doubles allowed
3B Triples allowed
AGS Average Game Score. See Game Score, below
Avg Batting average allowed
BB Bases on balls
BIPA Balls In Play Average. Batting Average Against, not including home runs
or
strikeouts.
Bk Balks
BISv Blown saves. See SvOp, below, for definition of a save situation
CG Complete games
CS Runners caught stealing
CW Cheap Wins. Wins in games started that are not Quality Starts.
Dec Decision (Win, loss)
DIPS ERA A pitcher's ERA, independent of the defense behind him. This formula,
based on essays by Voras McCracken, assumes that all pitchers have
consistent BIPA (See Above), and adjusts accordingly. The DIPS ratios on
ESPN use the DIPS 2.0 formula, are not park-adjusted, and do not adjust for
knuckleball pitchers.
ER Earned runs
ERA Earned-run average (ER times 9 divided by IP)
ERC Component ERA. A pitcher's ERA based on the hits and walks the pitcher
allowed, rather than actual runs.
ERC% Ratio of Component ERA to actual ERA
FB Fly balls hit against
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G/F Ground ball/fly ball ratio against (GB divided by FB)
GB Ground balls hit against
GIDP Grounded into double plays against
GF Games finished
GS Games started
GSc Game Score. Start with 50 points. Add 1 point for each out recorded, (3
points per inning). Add 2 points for each inning completed after the 4th.
Add 1 point for each strikeout. Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed.
Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed. Subtract 2 points for each
unearned run allowed. Subtract 1 point for each walk.
H Hits against
H1d Holds. Earned when a relief pitcher enters a game in a save situation (see
SvOp, below, for definition), records at least one out, and leaves the game
without having given up the lead
HR Home runs allowed
IBB Intentional bases on balls
IP Innings pitched
IR Inherited runners. Runners on base when a relief pitcher enters a game
L Losses
OBP On-base percentage allowed. See OBP in Batting Statistics, above, for
definition of OBP
ORuns Opponents' runs scored (average, per nine innings pitched) while the
pitcher
of record.
PFR Power/Finesse Ratio (Strikeouts Plus Walks Divided By Innings Pitched).
Qualified year-to-date In order to qualify for pitching titles in averaged
categories (ERA, WPct, #P/IP, RS, ORuns, Sig, OBP, Avg, CS%, G/F), a
player must average at least one inning pitched for every game his team has
played. Sorting by qualified year-to-date excludes all players not currently
on pace to reach that minimum
QS Quality starts
R Runs
RBI Runs batted in allowed
Rel Relief decision (Save, blown save, hold)
RS Run support. Team's runs scored (average, per 9 innings pitched) while the
pitcher of record
SB Stolen bases allowed
SF Sacrifice flies allowed
SH Sacrifice hits allowed
ShO Shutouts
Slg Slugging percentage allowed. See Slg in Batting Statistics, above, for
definition
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SO Strikeouts
Sv Saves. Earned when a pitcher finishes a game without having given up the
lead after entering in a save situation (see SvOp, below, for definition)
SvOp Save opportunities. When a pitcher 1) enters the game with a lead of
three
or fewer runs and pitches at least one inning, 2) enters the game with the
potential tying run on base, at bat, or on deck, or 3) pitches three or more
innings with a lead and is credited with a save by the official scorer
TBF Total batters faced
TL Tough Losses. Losses in games started that are Quality Starts.
WHIP Walks plus hits divided by Innings Pitched
W Wins
WPct Winning percentage Wins divided by (Wins + losses)
WP Wild pitches
FIELDING STATISTICS
A Assists
CERA Catcher's earned-run average. Earned-run average of club's pitchers with
a
particular catcher behind the plate
CS Runners caught stealing
CS% Percentage of runners caught stealing
DP Double plays
E Errors
FPct Fielding percentage (PO + A) divided by (PO + A + E)
G Games played
GS Games started
Inn Innings
PB Passed balls
PCS Pitchers' caught stealing. Total runners caught stealing when the player
who initiates the fielding play is the pitcher
PO Putouts
POA Pickoff attempts. Qualified year-to-date In order to qualify for fielding
titles in averaged categories (FPct., RF, CS%, CERA), a player must meet
the following qualifiers: Catchers must play 1/2 of their team's games;
Pitchers must average at least one inning pitched for each of their team's
games; Position players must play 2/3 of their team's games. Sorting by
qualified year-to-date excludes all players not currently on pace to reach
that minimum
RF Range factor (PO + A) divided by 9 innings
SBA Stolen bases allowed
TC Total chances
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ZR Zone rating. The percentage of balls fielded by a player in his typical
defensive "zone," as measured by STATS, Inc.
Bonus statistics may include, but are limited to, a no-hitter, a perfect game,
or
hitting for the cycle.
Exemplary offensive points include, but are not limited to, singles, steals,
runs,
bases on balls, and runs batted in (1 point each), doubles (2 points), triples
(3 points), home
runs (4 points), and a 10-point bonus for hitting for the cycle.
Exemplary pitching points include, but are not limited to, strikeouts (one-
quarter point; a pitcher with 10 strikeouts should be rewarded the same points
as a win),
innings pitched (1 point per inning), quality starts and saves (2 points
each), wins (5 points
each), plus bonuses for a no-hitter (10 points) or a perfect game (20 points).
Exemplary
deductions of pitching points include, but are not limited to, one-half point
for each earned run
yielded, 2 points for a blown save, and 5 points for a loss.
Drafts can be conducted based on an actual draft format or an auction based
format. These can be conducted in person or electronically, e.g., through the
Internet. In one
draft format, a commissioner and/or provider decides the draft order before
draft day. Fantasy
owner drafts his players based on position in his respective draft by what
ever order any
individual league adapts. The total amount of players drafted is determined by
the
comnnissioner and/or provider of any given league. For example, in a 10 Team
League,
Player #1 has the lst Overall Pick, Player #2 has the 20th Overall Pick, and
Player #3 has the
215t Overall Pick.
In an auction format, each owner gets to elect one player to be bid on for
each
round of the draft. The salary cap and roster limits are determined by the
commissioner
and/or provider of each league before draft day. Owners must draft full
rosters based on each
leagues salary cap, such as in a 10 Team League, Player #1 has $1,000, Player
#2 has $500,
Player #3 has $700, and Player #4 has $200. In an auto draft, the Provider of
Fantasy Leagues
does an auto draft where players are added to a Fantasy Owners Roster based on
a
predetermined value. These guidelines are established by each individual
commissioner
and/or provider.
Optionally, within each Fantasy league there is an American Division &
National Division. Fantasy Teams with in each division can only draft players
from within
the National League or American League. They can not select from both leagues.
Thus
fantasy owners within the American Division can only draft from players within
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League and vice versa.
The number of teams is determined by the commissioner and/or provider
before the beginning of each fantasy season. The number of teams that is
recommended to
play based on this format is between 2-100 teams. However to offer the most
ideal player
pool for each respective fantasy league, the best option is to offer an 8, 10,
12, and/or 14
fantasy teams with in a given league. These guidelines are established by each
individual
commissioner and/or provider.
A roster is made up of 18 Field Players & 12 Pitchers. A team should have a
minimum of one 1S' baseman, one 2nd baseman, one shortstop, one 3a baseman,
one catcher,
three outfielders, one starting pitcher, and one relief pitcher. Two injured
reserve slots are
available to players who are listed by their MLB team as "Injured Reserve,"
thus allowing the
Fantasy Owner to have as many as 16 full time players on their active roster.
Player Pools are
determined by each respective commissioner; however, the MLB player pool is
recommended
for usage only.
All lineups are due before the first pitch. If an owner forgets to hand in a
line-
up (e.g., electronically, in person, telephonically, etc.), the default is
that the owner starts the
same players started the game before. A team either picks the night the player
plays or not
specify. In the event that the team does not state what night the player
plays, the player stats
are calculated based on the first moment the player steps onto the baseball
field. Those will
be the stats used. A team may start one first baseman, one second baseman, one
third
baseman, one shortstop, one catcher, three outfielders, one starting pitcher,
and one
closer/relief pitcher. Additionally, a team may start a reserve player for two
positions.
Regular Season games are played over various formats. However the majority
of games are played on Monday-Wednesday and Friday-Sunday. In this example,
there must
be at least a minimum of 20 MLB games played over a three day period. Fantasy
Playoff
games are played over a three day period. The days playoff games fall on are
Friday-Sunday
and/or Monday- Wednesday as an example. The number of games in any given year
changes
based on how many games all owners agree to play. Usually there is between 20-
30 Regular
Season games that are scheduled for each fantasy season. Fantasy Playoffs are
usually 5
rounds long for 10 man leagues. The fantasy season ends two weeks before the
MLB regular
season ends. This is done to prevent MLB players froln being rested and/or
benched by their
MLB teams for precautionary reasons as would be understood by one skilled in
the art of
professional baseball.
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All free agents are eligible for bidding, and a minimum bid is assigned for a
player, whether a team gets the player or not. Players bid on are added to the
roster the day
before the next game. A team is allowed to place a one-game contract on a
player for a fee.
After that player has played out his one game contract, the player must be
dropped. A salary
cap is in place', and if a team goes over the salary cap it pays a fine. Each
player traded is
charged a fee. Leagues can also allow their owners to pick up players via a
waiver wire where
each week a Fantasy Owner has first claim on the free agent pool.
Example 3. An exemplary embodiment for a fantasy NASCAR league.
The following example is applied to NASCAR, but may be easily adapted to
other automobile races. The number of NASCAR race events with in any Fantasy
NASCAR
League is determined at the beginning of the season by the cominissioner
and/or provider for
each respective league. A fantasy game is played over the duration of 2 races.
Certain bonus
may be awarded for drivers who win the race or finish in the top ten. What
makes this format
so unique is the fact that the owner's driver must produce for that particular
event in order for
the owner's fantasy team to get a victory. What this unique scheduling basis
creates is the
fantasy game conditions that makes it user place as great an importance on a
driver for one
racing event.
Generally, the 3 drivers are started by each Fantasy Owner for each race
event.
The Fantasy owner with the most amount of points gets the victory. Their
record determines
the seeding for each Fantasy Owner for the playoffs. The most amount of Total
Points used
act as the first tie breaker in determining fantasy team's rankings with in
any given league.
The head to head record is used as the last tie breaker in determining overall
standings. All
these guidelines are established by each individual commissioner and/or
provider, however
this is the recommended format that should be used.
Under the head to head point based scoring system, scoring is determined and
calculated based on total statistics for each fantasy racing event. For
example, scoring is
based on what place the driver finishes the race. The stats used are based on
actual points
given to drivers for competing in the race and include wins, finishing
position, laps led, laps
completed or miles completed, DNF (Did not finish), poles and/or starts.
Exemplary points
are provided in the following table:
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POLL POLL
FINISH POINTS FINISH POINTS
1 180 23 94
2 170 24 91
3 165 25 88
4 160 26 85
155 27 82
6 150 28 79
7 146 29 76
8 142 30 73
9 138 31 70
134 32 67
11 130 33 64
12 127 34 61
13 124 35 58
14 121 36 55
118 37 52
16 115 38 49
17 112 39 46
18 109 40 43
19 106 41 40
103 42 37
21 100 43 34
22 97
This scoring system are customizable by each individual commissioner and/or
provider. This
exainple provides a recommended format that should be used.
Drafts can be conducted based on an actual draft format or an auction based
format. In one actual draft format, a commissioner and/or provider decides the
draft order
before draft day. The fantasy owner drafts his players based on position in
his respective draft
by what ever order any individual league adapts. The total amount of players
drafted is
determined by the commissioner and/or provider of any given league. Thus, in a
10 Team
League, player #1 obtains the lst overall pick, player #2 obtains the 20th
overall pick and
player #3 obtains the 21St overall pick. In accordance with the auction
format, each owner
gets to elect one player to be bided on for each round of the draft. The
salary cap and roster
limits are determined by the commissioner and/or provider of each league
before draft day.
Owners must draft full rosters based on each leagues salary cap. For example,
in a 10 team
league, player #1 has$1,000, player #2 has $500, player #3 has $700, and
player #4 has $200.
In an auto draft, players are added to a fantasy owners roster based on a
predetermined value.
all these guidelines are established by each individual commissioner and/or
provider. This
example provides a recommended format that should be used.
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The number of teams is determined by the commissioner and/or provider
before the beginning of each fantasy season. The number of teams that is
recommended to
play based on this format is between 2-100 teams. However to offer the most
ideal player pool
for each respective fantasy league, the best option is to offer an 8, 10, 12,
and/or 14 fantasy
teams with in a given league. All guidelines are established by each
individual commissioner
and/or provider. This example provides a recommended format that should be
used.
Roster sizes are determined as follows: draft 6 drivers; with one injured
reserve slot available to a player who is listed by their pit teams as
"Injured," thereby allowing
the fantasy owner to have as many as 7 full time players on their active
roster. Player pools
are determined by each respective commissioner, however the NASCAR driver pool
is
recommended for usage only. All these guidelines are established by each
individual
commissioner and/or provider. This example provides a recommended format that
should be
used.
With respect to the line ups, all lineups are due before the begiiming of the
first
race. If an owner forgets to hand in a line-up the owner starts the same
drivers as the owner
started the last fantasy game; owners start 3 drivers in all.; and there is an
option of placing
two players on reserve for to active event. This is done just incase one of
the active driver
does not race in the second event. All e guidelines are established by each
individual
commissioner and/or provider. This example provides a recommended format that
could be
used.
Regular Season games are played over the duration of two race events, the
basis for the statistics compiled are only based on one race event. Bonus
categories are
awarded to players who win the race. Fantasy Playoff games are played over 10
Racing
Events during the NASCAR season. The days most games will be played from
Thursday
through Sunday. This is done because most Racing Events transpire over those
particular
days. The number of games in any given year changes based on how many Racing
Events all
owners agree to play. There are usually 11 Regular Season games that are
scheduled for each
fantasy season. Fantasy playoffs are usually 5 rounds long for 10 man leagues.
These
guidelines are established by each individual commissioner and or provider,
however this is
the recommended format that should be used.
Shown below is an example of how 1 fantasy game is played over a Racing
Event. Owners start 3 drivers for each race (1 from each tier optional). The
winner is
determined by who scores the most points for that race, such as in the
following example:.
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Team #1
Players Race Finish Points
Earnhardt Jr. Daytona 2 170
Auto
Rickey Rudd Club 7 146
Ryan Newman Daytona 15 118
Total Points 434
Team #2
Players Race Finish Points
Travis Bickle Daytona 5 155
Auto
Rusty Wallace Club 6 150
Auto
Jimmy Johnson Club 12 127
Total Points 432
Box Score
TEAMS SCORE
TEAM #1 434
TEAM #2 432
Standings
TEAMS RECORD POINTS
TEAM #1 (1-0) 434
WIN/LOSS
TEAM #2 (0-1) 432
WINlLOSS
These guidelines are established by each individual commissioner and or
provider. This
example provides a recommended format that should be used.
With respect to player transactions, all free-agents are eligible for bidding;
2)
minimum bid for a player is $1, whether owners get the player or not; 3)
players bided on are
add to the opponents roster the day before the next game; 4) owners are
allowed to place a 1
race contract on a player for $1 (after that player has completed that
particular race, the player
must be dropped); 5) a salary cap is in place, if an owner goes over the
salary cap the owner
pays for each dollar the owners go over; 6) each player traded costs money;
and 7) leagues can
also allow their owners to pick up players via a waiver wire where each week,
wherein a
fantasy owner has first choice on the free-agent pool. These guidelines are
established by
each individual commissioner and/or provider.
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Example 4. An exemplary embodiment for a fantasy basketball league
using the NBA
Basketball fantasy leagues are determined at the beginning of the season by
the
commissioner and/or provider for each respective league and preferably with
input from team
owners. A fantasy game can be played over four- to seven-day span; or over
three-day span;
or over a two-day span. This allows you to schedule two fantasy games a week
using the
three-day format or three fantasy games a week using the two-day format or one
fantasy game
a week using the four- to seven-day format. The commissioner and/or provider
of each
respective league determines how many games are played during their fantasy
season. The
fantasy owner gets to pick one night that his respective player stats will be
used in his head-to-
head competition with his fantasy opponent over an extended fantasy game night
(2, 3, or
4-7).
The six players who are started by each Fantasy Owner for each game have
their statistics calculated individually and then added together to determine
the Team points.
The fantasy owner with the most points gets the victory. The record determines
the seeding
for each Fantasy Owner for the playoffs. Total Points are used as the first
tiebreaker in
determining fantasy teams' rankings within any given league. The head-to-head
record is
used as the last tiebreaker in determining overall standings.
Generally, the customizable parameters of any fantasy league, including this
exemplary league, are established by one or more of the commissioner, the team
owners, or
the provider.
Exemplary individual players statistics may include:
Points Field Goal Percentage
Free Throw Percentage Three-point Percentage
Two-point Percentage Points Per Shot
Shooting Efficiency Rebounds
Assists Steals
Blocks Fouls
Minutes Played Turnovers
Assist/Turnover Ratio Steals/Turnover Ratio
Steals/Foul Ratio Blocks/Foul Ratio
Double Doubles Triple Doubles
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Bonus scoring may be used as well. Examples include 50 or more points by
one player in a game; 20 or more rebounds by one player in a game; and 20 or
more assists by
one player in a game.
This is a head to head point based scoring system. Scoring is calibrated (z.
e.,
calculated) based on total stats for each fantasy game.
Shown below is an example of how we would recommend our leagues to
conduct their leagues based on our format.
Category Point(s)
Rebounds 1
Scoring 1
Assists 1
Blocks 1.5
Steals 1.5
Double Double 5
Triple Double 10
Quadruple Double 20
50 Points 5
20 Rebounds 5
20 Assists 5
Drafts can be conducted based on an actual draft format or an auction based
format. In one draft format, a commissioner and/or provider decides the draft
order before
draft day. Fantasy owner drafts his players based on position in his
respective draft by what
ever order any individual league adapts. The total amount of players drafted
is determined by
the commissioner and/or provider of any given league. For example, in a 10
Team League,
Player #1 has the 1St Overall Pick, Player #2 has the 20th Overall Pick, and
Player #3 has the
21 St Overall Pick.
In an auction format, each owner gets to elect one player to be bid on for
each
round of the draft. The salary cap and roster limits are determined by the
commissioner
and/or provider of each league before draft day. Owners must draft full
rosters based on each
leagues salary cap, such as in a 10 Team League, Player #1 has $1,000, Player
#2 has $500,
Player #3 has $700, and Player #4 has $200.
In an auto draft, the Provider of Fantasy Leagues does an auto draft where
players are added to a Fantasy Owners Roster based on a predetermined value.
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The number of teams is determined by the commissioner and/or provider
before the beginning of each fantasy season. The number of teams that is
recommended to
play based on this format is between 2-100 teams. However, to offer the most
ideal player
pool for each respective fantasy league, the best option is to offer an 8, 10,
12, and/or 14
fantasy teams within a given league.
A roster is made up of three centers, five forwards, and five guards. Two
Injured Reserve slots are available to players who are listed by their NBA
team as "Injured
Reserve," thus allowing the Fantasy Owner to have as many as 15 full time
players on their
active roster. Player Pools are determined by each respective commissioner,
however the
NBA player pool is recommended for usage only. Additionally, guards must not
be taller
than 6 feet, 7 inches, and must be listed in the NBA as a "Point Guard",
"Shooting Guard", or
"Small Forward." Forwards must be 6 feet, 5 inches or taller and must also be
listed in the
NBA as a "Shooting Guard" "Small Forward" or "Power Forward." Centers must be
6 feet,
inches or taller, and must be listed in the NBA as a "Power Forward" or
"Center."
All lineups are due before tip-off. If an owner forgets to hand in a line-up,
the
owner starts the same players started in the game before. There are two ways
in submitting a
lineup. A team either picks the night the player plays or does not specify. In
the event that
the team does not state what night the player plays; the player stats are
calibrated based on the
first moment he steps onto the basketball court. Those will be the stats used.
A team may
start one center, two forwards, two guards, and one sixth man. Additionally, a
team may start
a reserve player for two positions.
Regular Season games are played over two day period. The days all our games
are played are Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday. There must be a minimum
of 15
NBA games played over a two day period. Fantasy Playoff games are played over
a three day
period. The days playoff games fall on are Friday-Sunday and/or Monday-
Wednesday. The
number of games in any given year changes based on how many games all owners
agree to
play. Usually there are between 20-30 Regular Season games that are scheduled
for each
fantasy season. Fantasy Playoffs are usually 5 rounds long. The fantasy season
ends two
weeks before the NBA regular season ends. This is done to prevent NBA players
from being
rested and/or benched by their NBA teams for precautionary reasons.
Shown below is an example of how one fantasy game is played over a two day
format. Two guards, two forwards, one center, and one sixth man are used in
this example.
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Team #1
Fantasy
Position Player Fri Sat Box Score Score
Center Shaquille O'Neal X 20 pts, 10 rebs, 3 blks 39.5
Forward Kevin Garnett X 15 pts, 9 reb, 2 asts, 2 30
blks
Forward Tim Duncan X 20 pts, 20 rebs, 4 blks 56
Guard Jason Kidd X 12 pts, 12 asts, 4 stls 35
Guard Allen Iverson X 50 pts, 3 asts, 3 rebs, 4 68
stls
6t" Man Vince Carter X 25 pts, 5 asts, 5 rebs, 1 38
stl, 1 blk
266.5
Team #2
Fantasy
Position Player Fri Sat Box Score Score
Center Yao Ming X 15 pts, 10 rebs, 4 blks 36
Forward Chris Webber X 20 pts, 5 reb, 5 asts, 2 33
blks
Forward Kenyon Martin X 15 pts, 15 rebs, 5 asts, 47.5
3 blks, stls
Guard Steve Nash X 10 pts, 15 asts, 4 rebs, 37
2 stls
Guard Dwyane Wade X 20 pts, 10 asts, 5 rebs, 43
2 stls
6' Man Ricliard Jefferson X 20 pts, 12 asts, 10 rebs, 56.5
3 stls
253
BOX SCORE GAME
TEAM #1 266.5
TEAM #2 253
STANDINGS RECORD TOTAL
(W-L) POINTS
TEAM #1 1-0 266.5
TEAM #2 0-1 253
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There is also an alternative way to score points. Each individual statistic
can
be played against each fantasy opponent. The Fantasy team with the most points
in a
statistical category receives 1 point. Even though this is only illustrated
for basketball in this
example, this can be applied to all sports mentioned in the present invention.
Example:
Points Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals
Team #1 142 22 47 10 9
Team #2 100 47 39 9 6
Team #1 1 0 1 1 1
Team #2 0 1 0 0 0
Standings Record Total
Points
Teain # 1 1-0 4
Team #2 0-1 1
Commissioners, Owners and/or Providers also decides on the number of starters,
bench sizes
and value of each statistic (bonus options) used by any given league.
All free agents are eligible for bidding, and a minimum bid is assigned for a
player, whether a team gets the player or not. Players bid on are added to the
roster the day
before the next game. A team is allowed to place a one-game contract on a
player for a fee.
After that player has played out his one game contract, he must be dropped. A
salary cap is in
place, and if a team goes over the salary cap it pays a fine. Each player
traded is charged a
fee. Leagues can also allow their owners to pick up players via a waiver wire
where each
week a Fantasy Owner has first claim on the free agent pool.
Example 5. An exemplary embodiment for a fantasy hockey league using
the NHL
Hockey fantasy leagues are determined at the beginning of the season by the
commissioner and/or provider for each respective league. A fantasy game can be
played over
spans of 2, 3, or 4-7 days. This allows an owner to schedule two fantasy games
a week using
the 3-day format or 3 fantasy games a week using the 2-day format or 1 fantasy
game a week
using the 4-7 day format. The commissioner and/or provider of each respective
league
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determines how many games are played during their fantasy season. The fantasy
owner gets
to pick one night when the owner's player stats will be used in his head-to-
head competition
with his fantasy opponent over an extended fantasy game night (2, 3, or 4-7).
The six players who are started by each Fantasy Owner for each game have
their statistics added. The fantasy owner with the most points gets the
victory. The record
determines the winner or the seeding for each Fantasy Owner for the playoffs.
Total Points
are used as the first tie breaker in determining fantasy teams' rankings
within any given
league. The head-to-head record is used as the last tiebreaker in deterinining
overall
standings.
PLAYER STATISTICS
GP Games played
G Goals
A Assists
PTS Points
SOG Shots on goal
+/- Plus-minus rating
*A skater gets a + 1 if he is on the ice when his team scores an even-strength
or
shorthanded goal. He gets a-1 if he is on the ice when his team allows an even-
strength or shorthanded goal. This does not apply to goalies.
PPG Power-play goals
PPA Power-play assists
SHG Shorthanded goals
SHA Shorthanded assists
PIM Penalty minutes
TOI Time on ice
SHFT Shifts
FOW Faceoffs won
FOL Faceoffs lost
FO% Faceoff percentage
PROD Production value: the average ice time per point recorded.
*For example, if a player is on the ice for 20 minutes and registers two
points,
his production value is 10:00
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GOALIE STATS
GP Games played
W Wins
L Losses
T Ties
GAA Goals against average
*The number of non-empty net goals allowed by a goalie per 60 minutes.
SV Saves
SV% Save percentage
*The total saves divided by the total shots faced.
SO Shutouts
TGA Total goals allowed
TSA Total shots against
Any form of bonus scoring that the commissioner and/or provider choose to
use for any given league may be implemented. For example, bonus scoring may be
awarded
for a "Hat Trick" (i.e., three goals by one player in a single game). This
league in this
example is a head-to-head point based scoring system. Scoring is calibrated
based on total
stats for each fantasy game.
Shown below is an example of how we would recommend our leagues to
conduct their leagues based on our format.
Category Points
Offensive/Defensive Players
Goals 2
Assists 1
Shorthanded Goal .5
Hat trick +5
Goalies
Goals Given Up -4
Saves .5
Shut Out 10
Win 5
Loss -5
Drafts can be conducted based on an actual draft format or an auction based
format. In one draft forinat, a commissioner and/or provider decides the draft
order before
draft day. Fantasy owner drafts his players based on position in his
respective draft by what
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ever order any individual league adapts. The total amount of players drafted
is determined by
the commissioner and/or provider of any given league. For example, in a 10
Team League,
Player #1 has the 1st Overall Pick, Player #2 has the 20th Overall Pick, and
Player #3 has the
21st Overall Pick.
In an auction format, each owner gets to elect one player to be bid on for
each
round of the draft. The salary cap and roster limits are determined by the
commissioner
and/or provider of each league before draft day. Owners draft full rosters
based on each
leagues salary cap, such as in a 10 Team League, Player #1 has $1,000, Player
#2 has $500,
Player #3 has $700, and Player #4 has $200. In an auto draft, the Provider of
Fantasy Leagues
does an auto draft where players are added to a Fantasy Owners Roster based on
a
predetermined value. These guidelines are established by each individual
commissioner
and/or provider.
The number of teams is determined by the commissioner and/or provider
before the beginning of each fantasy season. The number of teams that is
recommended to
play based on this format is between 2-100 teams. However to offer the most
ideal player
pool for each respective fantasy league, the best option is to offer an 8, 10,
12, and/or 14
fantasy teams within a given league.
A roster is made up of three goalies, five defensemen, and six forwards. Two
injured reserve slots are available to players who are listed by their NHL
team as "Injured
Reserve," thus allowing the Fantasy Owner to have as many as 16 full time
players on their
active roster. Player Pools are determined by each respective commissioner;
however, in this
example, the NHL player pool is recommended only.
All lineups are due before the first face off. If an owner forgets to hand in
a
line up the owner starts the same players started in the game before. There
are at least two
ways to submit a lineup. A team either picks the night the player plays or not
specify. In the
event that the team does not state what night the player plays; the player
stats are calibrated
based on the first moment he steps onto the ice. Those will be the stats used.
A team may
start one goalie, three forwards, and two defensemen. Additionally, a team may
start a reserve
player for two positions.
Regular season games are played over a two-day period. The majority of
games are played on either Tuesday-Wednesday or Friday-Saturday. In this
example, there
inust be a minimum of 15 NHL games played over a two day period. Fantasy
Playoff games
are played over a three day period. The playoff games fall on either Friday-
Sunday or
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Monday-Wednesday. The number of games in any given year changes based on how
many
games all owners agree to play. Usually there is between 20-30 Regular Season
games that
are scheduled for each fantasy season. Fantasy Playoffs are usually 5 rounds
long for 10 man
leagues. The fantasy season ends two weeks before the NHL regular season ends.
This is
done to prevent NHL players from being rested and/or benched by their NHL
teams for
precautionary reasons.
Shown below is an example of how one fantasy game is played over a two-day
format. One goalie, two defensemen, and three forwards are started.
Box Fantasy
Position Player Fri Sat Score Score
Team #1
F Patrik Elias (NJ) X 1 GL, 1 AST 3
F Milan Hejduk x 2 AST 2
(TB)
F Mats Sundin x 2 GL 4
(TOR)
D Brian Leetch X 3 AST 3
(TOR)
D Bryan Berard x 0 0
(CHI)
Martin Brodeur 21 Saves,
G (NJ) X Win, 2 Goals 7.5
Given Up
TOTAL 19.5
Team #2
F Markus Naslund X 3 GLS 9
(COL)
F Todd Bertuzzi X 1 AST 1
(BOS)
F Peter Forsberg X 2 GLS, 1 5
(TOR) AST
D Al Maclnnis x 1 AST 1
(STL)
D Nicklas Lidstrom x 1 GL 2
(DET)
Steve Shields 28 Saves,
G (FL) X Loss, 1 Goal 4
Given Up
TOTAL 22
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BOX SCORE GAME 1
TEAM #1 19.5
TEAM #2 22
STANDINGS RECORDS TOTAL
(W-L) POINTS
TEAM 2 1-0 22
TEAM 1 0-1 19.5
All free agents are eligible for bidding, and a minimum bid is assigned for a
player, whether a team gets the player or not. Players bid on are added to the
roster the day
before the next game. A team is allowed to place a one-game contract on a
player for a fee.
After that player has played out his one game contract, the player must be
dropped. A salary
cap is in place, and if a team goes over the salary cap it pays a fine. Each
player traded is
charged a fee. Leagues can also allow their owners to pick up players via a
waiver wire where
each week a Fantasy Owner has first claim on the free agent pool.
Example 6. An exemplary embodiment for a fantasy golf league using the
PGA and LPGA
For the following example, PGA and LPGA events may be used
interchangeably or in conjunction, thereby creating a male and female player
pool. The
number of PGA tour events within any Fantasy PGA League is determined at the
beginning of
the season by the commissioner and/or provider for each respective league. A
fantasy game is
played over a four day span of whatever major tournaments that have been
incorporated into
any given fantasy golf season. The fantasy owner picks three golfers, whom the
owner will
start for the duration of the 1st through 4th rounds of any given tournament
that falls on a
particular fantasy game night. You must pick only one round that that golfers
stats will be
played (i.e., used towards fantasy scoring). The three golfers play as a team,
which is a format
consistent with and similar to the current Ryder Cup system. Certain bonus
points will be
awarded if that golfer goes on to win the tournament, such as if the golfer
makes a cut or
finishes within the top ten of any given tournament.
In head-to-head competition, the three players that are started by each
Fantasy
Owner for each game have their statistics added. The fantasy owner with the
least amount of
points gets the victory. Record determines the seeding for each Fantasy Owner
for the
playoffs. The least amount of Total Points is the determination used as the
first tie breaker in
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determining fantasy teams rankings with in any given league. Head to Head
record is used as
the last tie breaker in determining overall standings.
Statistics are maintained in each of these categories: Eagles; Birdies; Pars;
Bogeys; Birdies per round; Hole in One; Scoring Average; Number of Strokes;
Yards Per
Drive; Drive Accuracy; Greens In Regulation; Putting Average; Events; Rounds;
Cuts Made;
Top Tens; and Wins.
This is a head to head point based scoring system. Scoring is calibrated based
on total stats for each fantasy game.
Shown below is an example of how we would recommend our leagues to
conduct their leagues based on our format.
Category Points
Win -10
Cuts Made -2
Top Tens -5
Number of Strokes 1
Drafts can be conducted based on an actual draft format or an auction based
format. In one draft format, a commissioner and/or provider decides the draft
order before
draft day. Fantasy owner drafts his golfers based on position in his
respective draft by what
ever order any individual league adapts. The total amount of players drafted
is determined by
the commissioner and/or provider of any given league. For example, in a 10
Team League,
Player #1 has the lst Overall Pick, Player #2 has the 20th Overall Pick, and
Player #3 has the
21 st Overall Pick.
In an auction format, each owner gets to elect one player to be bid on for
each
round of the draft. The salary cap and roster limits are determined by the
commissioner
and/or provider of each league before draft day. Owners must draft full
rosters based on each
leagues salary cap, such as in a 10 Team League, Player #1 has $1,000, Player
#2 has $500,
Player #3 has $700, and Player #4 has $200.
In an auto draft, the Provider of Fantasy Leagues runs an auto draft where
players are added to a Fantasy Owners Roster based on a predeterinined value.
These guidelines are established by each individual commissioner and/or
provider.
The nuinber of teams is determined by the commissioner and/or provider
before the begimiing of each fantasy season. The number of teams that is
recommended to
play based on this format is between 2-100 teams. However to offer the most
ideal player
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pool for each respective fantasy league, the best option is to offer an 8, 10,
12, and/or 14
fantasy teams with in a given league.
These guidelines are established by each individual commissioner and/or
provider.
A roster is generally made up of six golfers. One injured reserve slot is
available to a player who is listed by the PGA as "Injured Reserve," thus
allowing the Fantasy
Owner to have as many as seven full-time players on their active roster.
Player Pools are
determined by each respective commissioner. In this example, the PGA player
pool is used.
All lineups are due before the first tee shot. If an owner forgets to hand in
a
line-up the owner starts the same players started in the last fantasy game.
Each owner starts
three golfers in all and must select one night that your golfer plays. Owners
also have the
option of placing two players on reserve for each active golfer. This is done
just in case one
of the active golfers does not play in the second round.
Regular Season games are played over the duration of a tournament, while the
basis for the statistics compiled are only based on the l st through 4t1i
rounds of each
tournament. Fantasy Playoff games are played over the last five tournaments
during the PGA
tour. The days most games will be played is Thursday through Sunday. This is
done because
most tournaments are played on those particular days. The number of games in
any given
year changes based on how many games all owners agree to play. Usually there
are 15
Regular Season games that are scheduled for each fantasy season. Fantasy
Playoffs are
usually 5 rounds long for 10 man leagues.
All free agents are eligible for bidding, and a minimum bid is assigned for a
player, whether a team gets the player or not. Players bid on are added to the
roster the day
before the next game. A team is allowed to place a one-game contract on a
player for a fee.
After that player has played out his one game contract, the player must be
dropped. A salary
cap is in place, and if a team goes over the salary cap it pays a fine. Each
player traded is
charged a fee. Leagues can also allow their owners to pick up players via a
waiver wire where
each week a Fantasy Owner has first claim on the free agent pool.
Shown below is an example of how 1 fantasy game is played over a
tournament. Three golfers are started.
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LAYERS HOLES HOLES
EAM 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1N TOT
AR 4 5 4 3 M44 4 5 4 36 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 4 36 72
red Couples 4 5 5 4 4 3 3 36 4 3 4 3 5 4 4 4 3 34 70
I s' Round)
;o1in Montgomery 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 35 4 3 4 3 6 4 4 4 4 36 71
4th Round)
'homas Bjorn 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 34 4 2 6 3 5 3 4 4 4 35 69
1 S' Round)
'OTALS 210
'LAYERS HOLES HOLES
CEA1d12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN TOT
3AR 4 5 4 3 4 3 4 5 4 36 4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 4 36 72
Jijay Singh 4 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 36 4 3 4 5 4 5 3 4 4 36 72
"2 a Round)
Figer Woods 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 35 4 3 4 3 6 4 4 4 4 36 71
(1 s' Round)
Ernie Els 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 35 4 2 6 3 5 3 4 4 5 36 71
(3'a Round)
TOTALS 214
BC?XSCORE
TEAMS SCORE
TEAM #1 210
TEAM #2 214
STANDINGS
TEAMS RECORD PTS
TEAM #1 1-0 210
TEAM #2 0-1 214
It should be noted that in golf the team that scores the lowest score, wins
the
game. Also note that in golf a lower score determines what team is in what
place. The team
with the least amount of points will get the higher rank in standings. Unlike
in this golf
example, in each of the other examples, the fantasy winner typically has the
highest score.
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Example 7. An exemplary embodiment for a fantasy soccer league using
international soccer organizations
The Fantasy Soccer Premier Leagues are determined at the beginning of the
season by the commissioner and/or provider for each respective league. A
fantasy game can
be played over a four- to seven-day span, a three-day span, or a two-day span.
This allows
you to schedule two fantasy games a week using the three-day format, or three
fantasy games
a week using the two-day format, or one fantasy game a week using the four- to
seven-day
format. The commissioner and/or provider of each respective league determines
how many
games are played during their fantasy season. The fantasy owner gets to pick
one night that
his respective player stats will be used in his head-to-head competition with
his fantasy
opponent over an extended fantasy gaine night (2, 3, or 4-7).
Due to the format of this unique scheduling concept, a large enough player
pool must be available to fantasy owners to draft full fantasy rosters. In
order to address this
issue with respect to a player pool, the commissioner and/or provider can pick
as few as two
leagues or as many Leagues as he deems necessary. This example incorporates
players from
any soccer organization that provide statistical information regarding its
players. Examples of
the possible Leagues to choose from include, without limitation, the English
Premier League,
German Premier League, French Premier League, Spanish Premier League, Italian
Premier
League, Dutch Premier League, Scottish Premier League, Portuguese Premier
League,
Turkish Premier League, Austrian Premier League, Swedish Premier League,
Finnish Premier
League, Russian Premier League, Polish Premier League, Greek Premier League,
Irish
Premier League, Brazilian Premier League, Argentinean Premier League, Mexican
Premier
League, MLS Premier League (US), Chinese Premier League, Japanese Premier
League,
Indian Premier League, and the Australian Premier League.
The Following Leagues are the recommended leagues to use for the respective
player pools, all which play on Saturdays and Sundays.
League No. of Teams Season Starts Season Ends
English Premier League 20 August April
French Premier League 20 August March
German Premier League 18 August February
Italian Premier League 20 August March
Spanish Premier League 20 August March
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Generally, eleven players are started by each Fantasy Owner for each game,
and these players have their statistics added and converted to fantasy scores.
The fantasy
owner with the most points gets the victory. The record determines the seeding
for each
Fantasy Owner for the playoffs. Total Points are used as the first tiebreaker
in determining
fantasy teams rankings with in any given league. The head-to-head record is
used as the last
tiebreaker in determining overall standings.
Conventional soccer statistics include:
Shots Goals
Assists Fouls
Fouls Drawn Yellow Card
Red Card Offside
Saves Goals Given Up
Bonus Options include a Hat Trick, for example.
In this example, the scoring is a head-to-head point based scoring system.
Scoring is calibrated (i. e., calculated) based on total stats for eacll
fantasy game. Shown
below is an example of how we would recommend our leagues to conduct their
leagues based
on our format.
Category Points
Offensive/Defensive Players
Goals 2
Assists 1
Hat trick +3
Goalies
Goals Given Up -2
Saves .5
Shut Out +2
Drafts can be conducted based on an actual draft format or an auction based
format. In one draft format, a commissioner and/or provider decides the draft
order before
draft day. Fantasy owner drafts his players based on position in his
respective draft by what
ever order any individual league adapts. The total amount of players drafted
is determined by
the commissioner and/or provider of any given league. For example, in a 10
Team League,
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Player #1 has the Ist Overall Pick, Player #2 has the 20th Overall Pick, and
Player #3 has the
215t Overall Pick.
In an auction format, each owner gets to elect one player to be bid on for
each
round of the draft. The salary cap and roster limits are determined by the
commissioner
and/or provider of each league before draft day. Owners must draft full
rosters based on each
leagues salary cap, such as in a 10 Team League, Player #1 has $1,000, Player
#2 has $500,
Player #3 has $700, and Player #4 has $200.
In an auto draft, the Provider of Fantasy Leagues does an auto draft where
players are added to a Fantasy Owners Roster based on a predetermined value.
The number of teams is determined by the commissioner and/or provider
before the beginning of eacll fantasy season. The number of teams that is
recommended to
play based on this format is between 2-100 teams. However, to offer the most
ideal player
pool for each respective fantasy league, the best option is to offer an 8, 10,
12, and/or 14
fantasy teams within a given league.
A roster is made up of three goalies and twenty offensive players. Two Injured
Reserve slots are available to players who are listed by their Premier team as
"Injured
Reserve," thus allowing the Fantasy Owner to have as many as 25 full time
players on their
active roster.
All lineups are due prior to the beginning of each game. If an owner forgets
to
hand in a line-up he starts the same players as he started the game before.
There are two ways
in submitting a lineup. A team either picks the night the player plays or does
not specify. In
the event that the team does not state what night the player plays; the player
stats are
calibrated based on the first moment he steps onto the field. Those will be
the stats used. A
team may start one goalie and ten offensive players. Additionally, a team may
start a reserve
player for two positions.
Regular Season games are played over a three-day period. The days all our
games are played are Friday-Sunday. There must be a minimum of 30 Premier
teams playing
over that three-day period. Fantasy Playoff games are also played over a three-
day period.
The days playoff games fall on are Friday-Sunday. The number of games in any
given year
changes based on how many games all owners agree to play. Usually there are
between 20-30
Regular Season games that are scheduled for each fantasy season. Fantasy
Playoffs are
usually 5 rounds long for 10-man leagues. The fantasy season ends two weeks
before the first
Premier teams regular season ends. This is done to prevent soccer players from
being rested
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and/or benched by their Premier teams for precautionary reasons. If an owner
were to use the
Spanish, English, French, German, and Italian Premier Leagues, the fantasy
season would
have to be played during the months of September to February, because all five
of those
leagues have their teams playing during those months.
Format:
TEAM #1
Box Total
Position Player Name League FRI SAT SUN Score Points
French
OF Mickael Pagis (Strasbourg) X 1 GL 2
French
OF Alexander Frei (Rennes) X 1 AST 1
England
OF Thierry Henry (Arsenal) X 0 0
German
OF Mark Mintal (Nornberg) X 2 AST 2
French (AC
OF Waldir Lucas Peraira Ajaccio) X 1 GL 2
German
(Bayern
OF Claudio Pizzaro Muiiich) X 1 AST 1
Italy (AC
OF Andriy Shercheiiko Milan) X 0 0
Spain
OF Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona) X 0 0
Italy
OF Ziatan Ibrahimovic (Juventus) X 1 AST 1
Spain (Real
OF Luiz Ronaldo Madrid) X 2 GL 4
England 10 Saves
GL Tim Howard (Man United) X 1 Goal 3
TOTAL 16
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TEAM #2
Box Total
Position Player Name League FRI SAT SUN Score Points
French
OF Marama Vahirua (Nice) X 3 GLS 6
French
OF Olivier Monterubbie (Rennes) X 1 AST 1
German
(Bayern
OF Roy Makaay Municll) X 0 0
German
OF Sergej Barbarez (Hamberg) X 0 0
German
OF Andrej Voronin (Bayer) X 0 0
Italy 1 GL, 2
OF Fabrizio Miccoli (Fiorentina) X AST 4
Italy
OF Vincenzo laquinta (Udinese) X 1 AST 1
Italy (Inter 1 GL, 2
OF Christian Vieri Milan) X AST 4
Spain (Real
OF Luis Edu Betis) X 0 0
Spain (Real
OF Michael Owens Madrid) X 0 0
England 8 Saves
GL Jens Lehmann (Arsenal) X 1 Goal 2
TOTAL 18
BOX SCORE
TEAM SCORE
TEAM #1 16
TEAM #2 18
STANDINGS:
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TEAM RECORD POINTS
TEAM #2 1-0 18
TEAM #1 0-1 16
All free agents are eligible for bidding, and a minimum bid is assigned for a
player, whether a team gets the player or not. Players bid on are added to the
roster the day
before the next game. A team is allowed to place a one-game contract on a
player for a fee.
After that player has played out his one game contract, he must be dropped. A
salary cap is in
place, and if a team goes over the salary cap it pays a fine. Each player
traded is charged a
fee. Leagues can also allow their owners to pick up players via a waiver wire
where each
week a Fantasy Owner has first claim on the free agent pool.
Example 8. An exemplary embodiment for a fantasy collegiate basketball
league
Generally, NCAA fantasy leagues are determined at the beginning of the
season by the commissioner and/or provider (i.e., a server hosting the fantasy
system or the
system itself) for each respective league. A fantasy game can be played over
four to seven
day span; or over three day span; or over a two day span. This allows you to
schedule 2
fantasy games a weeks using the three day format or 3 fantasy games a week
using the two
day format or 1 fantasy game a week using the 4-7 day format. The
coinmissioner and/or
provider of each respective league determines how many games are played during
their
fantasy season. The fantasy owner gets to pick one night that his respective
player stats will
be used in his head to head competition with his fantasy opponent over an
extend fantasy
game night (e.g., 2, 3, or 4-7).
Due to the format of this unique scheduling concept, a large enough player
pool must be available to fantasy owners to draft full fantasy rosters. In
order to address this
issue with respects to a player pool, the Commissioner and/or Provider can
pick between any
number of NCAA Conferences or other college sports leagues, associations
and/or
organizations to use including, for example, America East Conference, Atlantic
10
Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big 12
Conference, Big
East Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Big Ten Conference,
Big West
Conference, Colonial Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Division I
Independents,
Horizon League; Ivy League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mid Continent
Conference, Mid American Conference, Mid Eastern Athletic Conference, Missouri
Valley
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Conference, Mountain West Conference, North East Conference, Ohio Valley
Conference,
Pacific 10 Conference, Patriot League, Southeastern Conference, Southern
Conference,
Southland Conference, Southwestern Athletic Conference, Sun Belt Conference,
West Coast
Conference, and Western Athletic Conference.
In this example, the 6 players who are started by each Fantasy Owner for each
game have their statistics added. The fantasy owner with the most points gets
the victory.
The record determines the seeding for each Fantasy Owner for the playoffs.
Total Points are
used as the first tie breaker in determining fantasy teams rankings with in
any given league.
The head to head record is used as the last tie breaker in determining overall
standings. These
guidelines may be customized by each individual commissioner and/or provider.
Exemplary Individual Players Basketball Statistics used are: Points, Field
goal
Percentage, Free Throw Percentage, Three Point Percentage, Two Point
Percentage, Points
Per Shot, Shooting Efficiency, Assists, Steals, Blocks, Fouls, Minutes Played,
Turnovers,
Assist/Turnover Ratio, Rebounds, Steals/Turnover Ratio, Steals/Foul Ration,,
Blocks/Foul
Ratio, Double Doubles, and Triple Doubles. An additional bonus may be awarded
consistent
with any form of scoring that any commissioner and/or provider choose to use
for any given
league, such as bonuses for 50+ Points, 20+ Rebounds, and/or 20+ Assists
This is a head to head point based scoring system. Scoring is determined
and/or
calculated based on total stats for each fantasy game. Shown below is an
example of point
scoring All guidelines can be established by each individual commissioner
and/or provider.
Category Points
Rebounds 1
Scoring 1
Assists 1
Blocks 1.5
Steals 1.5
Double Double 5
Triple Double 10
Quadruple Double 20
50 Points 5
20 Rebounds 5
20 Assist 5
Drafts can be conducted based on an actual draft format or an auction based
format. The player pools are generally determined before the draft as to what
players can be
drafted from what active conferences which were previously selected by the
c6mmissioner
and/or provider. In this example, a commissioner and/or provider decides the
draft order
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before draft day. Fantasy owner drafts his players based on position in his
respective draft by
what ever order any individual league adapts. The total amount of players
drafted is
determined by the commissioner and/or provider of any given league. In a 10
team league,
Player #1 has the 1S' Overall Pick, Player #2 has the 20t" Overall Pick and
Player #3 has the
21 st Overall Pick.
In an auction format, each owner elects one player to be bid on for each round
of the draft. The salary cap and roster limits are determined by the
commissioner and/or
provider of each league before draft day. Owners must draft full rosters based
on each leagues
salary cap. the following presents an exemplary salary cap for teams in an
auctions: 10 Team
League, Player #1 has $1,000, Player #2 has $500, Player #3 has$700, and
Player #4 has $200
In an auto draft, the players are added to a Fantasy Owners Roster based on a
predetermined value.
The number of teams is determined by the commissioner and/or provider
before the beginning of each fantasy season. The number of teams that is
recommended to
play based on this format is at least two, and preferably between 2-100 teams.
The most
preferred based on the most ideal player pool for each respective fantasy
league, is an 8, 10,
12, and/or 14 fantasy team league.
Generally, an owner drafts 3 Centers, 5 Forwards, & 5 Guards. Two injured
reserve slots are available to players who are listed by their NBA team as
"Injured Reserve,"
thereby allowing the Fantasy Owner to have as many as 15 full time players on
their active
roster. Player Pools are determined by each respective commissioner, however
the NBA
player pool is recommended for usage only. Guards are between 6'7 or below in
feet and
eligibility at guard depends on being listed in the NBA as a "Point Guard,"
"Shooting Guard,"
or "Small Forward." Forwards are 6' 5 feet tall or above and are also listed
in the NBA as a
"Shooting Guard" "Small Forward" or "Power Forward." Centers are 6' 10 feet
tall or above
and will be listed in the NBA as a "Power Forward" or "Center." All of these
guidelines are
established by each individual commissioner and/or provider.
All lineups are due before tip-off. If an owner forgets to hand in a line-up
the
owner can start the same players as the owner started the game before. There
are two ways in
submitting a lineup. The owner either pick the night the player plays or not
specify. In the
event that you do not state what night the player plays; the player stats are
calibrated (i.e.,
calculated or determined) based on the first moment he steps onto the
basketball court. Those
will be the stats used. A team starts 1 Center, 2 Forwards, 2 Guards, 1 sixth
man,. and a
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reserve player for two positions. All of these guidelines are established by
each individual
commissioner and/or provider.
Regular Season games are played over two day period. The days all our games
are played are Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday. In this example,
theremust be at
least a minimum of 15 NBA games played over a two day period. Fantasy Playoff
games are
played over a three day period. The days playoff games fall on are Friday-
Sunday and/or
Monday-Wednesday. The number of games in any given year changes based on how
many
games all owners agree to play. Usually there is between 20-30 Regular Season
games that
are scheduled for each fantasy season. Fantasy Playoffs are usually 5 rounds
long. The
fantasy season ends two weeks before the NBA regular season ends. This is done
to preveiit
NBA players from being rested and/or benched by their NBA teams for
precautionary reasons.
All of these guidelines are established by each individual commissioner and/or
provider.
Shown below is an example of how 1 fantasy game is played over a two day
format. 2 Guards, 2 Forwards, 1 Center, and 1 6hman are used in this example
below.
Example:
TEAM #1
Position Player Fri Sat Box Score Fantasy Score
Center Andrew Bogut X 20pts l Oreb, 39.5
(Utah) 3blks
Forward Charlie Villaneuva X 15pts 9reb 2ast 30
(UCONN) 2blks
Forward Marvin Williams X 20pts 20rebs 56
(NCU) 4blks
Guard Deron Williams X 12pts 12ast 4stl 35
(ILU)
Guard Chris Paul X 50pts 3ast 3reb 68
(Wake Forest) 4stl
6th Man Raymond Felton X 25pts 5ast 5reb 38
(NCU) 1 stl lblk
TOTAL 266.5
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TEAM #2
Position Player Fri Sat Box Score Fantasy Score
Center Channing Fry X 15pts 10rebs 36
(AZU) 4blks
Forward Ike Diogu X 20pts 5rebs 5ast 33
(AZSU) 2blks
Forward Sean May (NCU) X 15pts 15rebs 47.5
5ast 3blks 2stl
Guard. Antoine Wright X lOpts 15ast 4reb 37
(TX A&M) 2stl
Guard Danny Granger X 20pts 10ast 5reb 43
(NMU) 2stl
6th Man Hakim Warrick X 20pts 12ast 56.5
(Syracuse) lOreb 3stl
TOTAL 253
BOX SCORE GAME
TEAM #1 266.5
TEAM #2 253
STANDINGS RECORD TOTAL
POINTS
TEAM #1 (1-0) WIN/LOSS 266.5
TEAM #2 (0-1) WIN/LOSS 253
This example includes an alternative way to score points. Each individual
statistic can be
played against each fantasy opponent. The Fantasy team with the most points in
a statistical
category receives 1 point. Even though this is only illustrated for basketball
in this example,
this can be applied to all sports on this application.
Example:
Points Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals
Team #1 142 22 47 10 9
Team #2 100 47 39 9 6
Team #1 1 0 1 1 1
Team #2 0 1 0 0 0
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3tandings
Record Total Points
Team #1 (1-0) 4
Team #2 (0-1) 1
Generally Commissioners and/or Providers also decides on the number of
starters, bench sizes and value of each statistic (bonus options) used by any
given league.
With respect to transactions, all Free-Agents are eligible for bidding. There
is a league
defined minimum bid for a player, whether you get the player or not. Players
bided on are add
to the opponents roster the day before the next game. A team is allowed to
place a 1 Game
contract on a player for an established price. After that player has played
out his one game
contract, the player n2ust be dropped. A Salary Cap is in place, and if a team
goes over the
salary cap, the team is fined for eac11 dollar you go over. Each player traded
is associated with
a dollar value. For each player switched out of one position to another
position (for eligible
players only), there is a cost. Leagues can also allow their owners to pick up
players via a
waiver wire where each week a Fantasy Owner has first right on the Free-Agent
Pool. All of
these guidelines are established by each individual commissioner and/or
provider.
Example 9. Obtaining statistical data from statistics provider
In accordance with the present invention, a Major League Baseball fantasy
league is established by a commissioner for twelve owners and a corresponding
twelve teams
on a computer server available through the Internet. Owners submit information
regarding
line ups to the commissioner.
Players selected in the line ups perform in real life. The statistics for each
player performing in real life games are tabulated by the statistical provider
or a party that has
agreed to provide the tabulations to the statistical provider. The statistical
provider further
provides the statistical data to the fantasy league through an Internet-based
server that
communicates with the server hosting the fantasy league. Statistics for each
player in the
Owners' line up is provided in real time.
Owner's access real time statistics by accessing graphical user interfaces
(GUI)
on software for the owner's to access the league website. The statistics for
each player are
provided for each player. The system converts the raw statistical data from
the real life
performance by the player into the equivalence values for the fantasy league
based on the
league scoring rules. For example, Cal Ripken has 4 RBI, a home run, 2 runs
scored, and 2
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hits. In the league, an RBI, a run, and a hit is worth one point, and a home
run is worth four
points. The GUI presents the fantasy league score for Cal Ripken as 12 points.
Example embodiments of the present invention have now been described in
accordance with the above advantages. It will be appreciated that these
examples are merely
illustrative of the invention. Many variations and modifications, such as
statistics used and
methods of conducting a fantasy league, will be apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art
without departing from the systems and methods disclosed and taught by the
present
invention. The present invention may be applied to any actual sport, whether
professional,
collegiate, or amateur, taking place with a multiple game or match schedule,
whether or not
there is a professional or amateur league, including, but not limited to
cricket, rugby, tennis,
auto sports, bowling, etc.
